Writings in the Smart Set, Volume 3

In this third volume of his writings in the Smart Set, H. L. Mencken expands his range considerably beyond merely the writing of monthly book reviews. Having taken over as co-editor (with George Jean Nathan) of the magazine in late 1914, Mencken found that there was a serious dearth of material for upcoming issues; therefore, he wrote numerous pieces-stories, poetry, essays, sketches, many written under pseudonyms-to fill up the magazine with the type of work he felt it ought to have. Accordingly, we find such short stories as "The Barbarous Bradley," "Neapolitan Nights," and others; prose poems on Beethoven, the flapper, and the cockroach; the short plays Death: A Discussion and The Wedding: A Stage Direction; and numerous other whimsies. Among his book reviews, we find Mencken championing the work of Theodore Dreiser, John Galsworthy, Anatole France, Joseph Conrad, and others; but there are also some devastating reviews of the hackwork of Marie Corelli and Marjorie Benton Cooke (author of the sentimental novel Bambi). All in all, a rich feast for the Mencken devotee.