THE REGENT’S DAUGHTER; Translated from the French of Alexandre Dumas, by Charles H. Town. New-York: Harper and Brothers. 1845.
This is sad trash. Dumas has ruined his talent by careless, hasty writing for mercenary ends. Once, however imperfect his books were, flashes of native fire animated them; in this, he seems merely the hack author. There is nothing tolerable in the book, except the description of the prisoner’s life at the Bastille, and there, it is only the facts that are interesting; they are not written out with spirit. ’T is pity that better books should not be selected for translation. Such nonsense from Souliè, the lowest works of Paul de Kock are selected, when there are books which would degrade the reader less, and entertain him more. ’T is pity!*
“The Regent’s Daughter. . .” New-York Daily Tribune, 25 February 1845, p. 2.
