CHAPTER IV

“VENDETTA” AND “THELMA”

Mr. Bentley’s Opinion of “Vendetta”--Practically a True Story of Naples during the Cholera Epidemic of 1884--The Remarkable Ingenuity of its Construction--The Novelist’s Habit of Creating a Pretty Picture only to Destroy it, as Exemplified by the Opening Chapters of “Vendetta” and After Events--The Appalling Ferocity of Count Fabio and the Culminating Scene of his Vengeance.

Mr. Bentley’s Enthusiastic Comments on “Thelma”--The Story Compared with “She,” to the Latter’s Disadvantage--A Romantic Setting--The Main Theme of the Book--Thelma’s Bewilderment at the Hollowness of Society--Her Husband’s Alleged Unfaithfulness--Her Flight to Norway and the Sequel--Miss Corelli’s “Unsparing Brush”--The Weak Spot in the Book--Thelma’s Winning Personality 64