The Wheel of Life (1906)

Summary

“The Latest Books Under Brief Review,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 20 January 1906, p. 4

Finished and carefully elaborated as it is in style and manner, The Wheel of Life is almost certain to be a disappointment to many of the admirers of Miss Ellen Glasgow. In one or two ways, none the less, it shows a higher development than any of her previous books. For one thing, it shows a little too plainly, it is true, her recognition of the fact that the novel of plot, however excellent, must always stand for a lower type than the novel of character. It shows further a gain in sureness of touch, in accuracy and ease of expression, in the deft turning of a phrase; and exhibits, to a greater degree than she has yet exhibited, qualities of observation and insight, and a laudable desire to grapple with some of the more lasting and fundamental problems of living.

These highly desirable gifts, had their possessor given them a chance for really effective display, might have wrought a result in which we could find little to criticize. But it is just here that Miss Glasgow has allowed her achievement to fall short of her abilities. To begin with, she has carried her disregard for the demands of plot to the point of not having any at all. This, in itself, might have been no fair criticism upon a novel with the purpose and intended scope of this one.