1R. GRANVILLE BARKER AND "DOCTOR KNOCK "
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—It is the astonishing habit of the English to accept the ' French in literary matters at their own valuation. From Racine to Romains " credimus quia incredibile." " Racine," we argue patiently, " is quite unlike Shakespeare. But the French are a great literary nation. Therefore, Racine, though failing by all Shakespeare's standards, must succeed by some unknown and therefore magnificent. Up Racine ! "
If only we had the courage to be as insular as the French are
Continental, we should in our criticism, as Mr. Barker so often does in his creation, wake to find that we had achieved the general. M. Romains may, as Mr. Granville Barker says, be a distinguished French writer, but then they all are ! And for my part I shall continue to believe that an ounce of The Voysey Inheritance is worth a ton of Doctor Knock.—I am,
Previous page
