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R. v. R., THE LIFE AND TIMES or REMBRANDT VAN RIJN—Hendrik Willem Van Loon—Liveright ($5).
Hendrik Van Loon is plagued with large ideas. When he was eleven he started to write a Universal Encyclopedia of Historical Knowledge. A Dutchman, an escapist (says he: "Even today I know the 17th Century better than the 20th"), Van Loon long planned a life of Rembrandt, whom he considers greatest Dutchman of his time. This is it. Written in the form of the diary of Van Loon's mythical great-great-great-grandfather, an Amsterdam physician, great & good friend of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, the book is a voluminous (570 pages), discursive, far-from-formal narrative in which Rembrandt is a major figure but the great-great-great-grandfather the hero.
Imaginary Dr. Van Loon met Painter van Rijn when Rembrandt's first wife, Saskia, took her last illness. Though she died the men became cronies. Rembrandt's popularity as a portrait-painter had gone; his artistic experiments, his unconventionality, his debts had roused the commercial conscience of the burghers against him. But Van Loon recognized his genius, liked his character, helped him when he could, gave him good advice when he thought he ought to: notably when he noticed the unmarried pregnancy of Rembrandt's housekeeper, Hendrickje Stoffels. In spite of all, Rembrandt died in bankruptcy, Van Loon was "killed" a few years later at the Battle of Kijkduin. Rembrandt's fame had evaporated, apparently forever.
The Author. Hendrik Willem Van Loon (pronounced "Van Loan") is fat and 48. Onetime newspaperman, onetime professor of history, he married his third wife after she had divorced her first husband, then left her for his second wife after his second wife had divorced her second husband; now lives with his second wife. While he was in Amsterdam getting material for this book he tried to raise money to pay Rembrandt's debts, rehabilitate the 300-year-old undischarged bankrupt. Other books: The Story of Mankind, Tolerance, America, The Story of the Bible. R. v. R. is the Literary Guild selection for October.
Prig's Progress
THIS PURE YOUNG MAN—Irving Fineman—Longmans, Green ($2).*
If you are a collector of prize novels, take a look at this one. It won Publisher Longmans, Green's competition and $7,500. Though the title sounds ironic, perhaps was so intended, it is not.
Roger and Harry grew up in the same small town, went to school and college together, were always friends. Harry was popular, ordinary, successful. Roger was unpopular, unsuccessful; otherwise quite like Harry. When they graduated from their Philadelphia college both entered the same architect's office. When the War came Harry enlisted, for no good reason; Roger stayed at home because he thought war was silly and architecture not, eventually married one of Harry's girls. He and Alice had a hard time, because Roger's architectural ideas were a little too pure to be successful, also because his mind was less than half on Alice. Finally, just after he had turned in his design for the Dobson Award, he was operated on for hernia, died under the anesthetic. Harry came home with the rest of the doughboys, married Alice, took over Roger's prize-winning design, made a fortune.