Place of Honeymoons
(Bobbs-Merrill, 1912)
Nora da Toscana, an American opera singer, is being harassed and pursued by Edward Courtlandt. He desires to speak to her, and bears an important relation to her past life, but no one knows where he fits in. While in Paris, an unknown lady comes to him by night, purporting to bring a message from Flora Desimone, Toscana's bitter rival. Desimone is married to a duke, and spends much of her time trying to frustrate Toscana's career. Anyhow, Courtlandt gets his inamorata's address from Desimone and enters her apartment. However, when she returns at night to find him in wait, she levels a pistol at his head and all but nearly kills him. Courtlandt makes his exit. But shortly thereafter Toscana is abducted by a mysterious person and held in durance vile-- at Versailles. In a couple days she is inexplicably released, however. And thinking that Courtlandt is the abductor, she reports him to the French authorities. But he has a fool-proof alibi.
Now Toscana is really Nora Harrigan. Toscana is just her stage name. Next place we find her is at Lake Como, Bellagio, Italy-- the Place of Honeymoons. Mom and Dad Harrigan have decided to keep her company. Dad Harrigan is an ex-boxer, while the mother is an aspiring society nut who wants to see her daughter married to a rich duke or earl. And there are plenty of them suing for her attention! The Barone, a fiery Italian officer of the old school, is one of them. As well, there is Abbott, a tortured artist type who paints landscapes. Then, too, Herr Rosen, a passionate German, won't leave her alone. He persists in sending her bouquets of expensive flowers-- sometimes accompanied by uncut emeralds and other gems. But when Edward Courtlandt comes on the scene, things take a different twist. Courtlandt is Abbott's best friend. Also, Courtlandt's father was a good pal of Pop Harrigan. When all these characters get placed together, one can just imagine where things will lead.
Harold MacGrath once more heads Bobbs-Merrill's rack of fine fiction with this romantic puzzler set in the midst of one of the world's most beautiful locales. Although I liked this one a bit less than his other fiction of the period, nevertheless it is an interesting yarn which showcases the author's descriptive talent as well as peculiar genius for plot construction. The main elements of the story are gradually unfolded. Thus the reader doesn't even know who Courtlandt is until the last twenty pages or so. MacGrath used a similar process in Parrot & Co. Certainly this method of unravelment has its advantages-- though I'm not sure it adapts so well to a piece of romantic fiction. Nevertheless, it provides a refreshing break from the conventional narrative style, and allows for repeated readings.
This tale also accentuates MacGrath's peculiar expertise in the "intrigue genre"-- if such a thing exists. It can hardly be called a mystery in the normal sense, albeit it's practically handled as such. When weighed in the balance, it is a decent "two star" novel which has a few things going for it. As a work of artistic polish, it is one of MacGrath's better tales. Nevertheless, it is not the kind of book one normally reads today. Besides being dated, it is very "local" in significance. One can hardly appreciate the scenery & settings unless he's been there himself. Since I've never visited Lake Como, I was unable to enter into the peculiar atmosphere that runs through the story. Then there are the operatic themes, which lie totally outside the average reader's experience. Truly, one is sometimes tempted to call The Place of Honeymoon a "society novel" -- if it weren't for the fact that it is not quite snooty enough for that. Its flavor is American as apple pie.
The tale is similar in tone and feel to MacGrath's 1908 work, The Lure of the Mask-- which also takes place in Italy. It is illustrated in Victorianesque fashion by Arthur I. Keller. The book itself is about 380 pages of large, wide-margined text. It took me about five hours to read. Its availability is becoming somewhat limited, though I've seen half a dozen copies on Ebay in the last few months. Although several of MacGrath's novels were recently reprinted by the elite Kessinger Publishing Company, this book isn't one of them. Thus, any voyage you take will be strictly by way of the Bobbs-Merrill time capsule. But that shouldn't pose any problem. To visit the Place of Honeymoons, you can normally get a ticket for less than $20. Ah, the old days of Continental Europe! Here you can relive them, if you so desire. The vintage is exquisite, and the cigars still fresh. The flowers are blooming and the ladies are waiting. So step along this way, and get on board with me-- for a cruise to the majestic and magnificent Place of Honeymoons.
--B.A.S.
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