Novel 009: David Christie Murray, Hearts (1883)
A young gentleman seeking success in music and in love is undermined by a false friend and defended by a true one.
David Christie Murray (1847-1907) wrote some 30 novels between 1880 and 1907. Here he sets out to disprove the claim of an “American writer of fiction” (attacked in his preface) that “all the stories have been told” with an involved, and involving, plot.
“The interest of the story is well sustained.” Academy, June 6, 1883
The villain’s “picture is drawn with remarkable skill”; the plot “is good throughout, and towards the end, where the action becomes more rapid, rises to a high level of merit”; the author provides “acute observation of life” that is “both vigorous and just.” Spectator, June 9, 1883
“The novel is bright and readable.” British Quarterly Review, July 1883
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v. 1 https://archive.org/details/heartsnovel01murr