To those who read Thomas Hardy's 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles ' the atmosphere and incidents of 'Joan Haste' will seem familiar. It is written along much the same line. One may accuse 'Joan Haste' as lacking in originality; but Haggard has come dangerously close to beating Hardy in his own field.
'Joan Haste is by far the most earnest, and in many ways the most impressive work of H. Rider Haggard. The insight into character which it displays is almost invariably keen and true. Every personality in the story is fully alive, and individual traits of thought and action are revealed little by little as the narrative progresses, until they stand forth as definite and consistent creations.
All the strong and striking peculiarities that have made Haggard's earlier works so deservedly popular are repeated here in a new spirit. Not only that, but his literary execution shows an enlarged skill and betrays the master-hand of self-restraint that indicate maturity of power. His conception of character is improved by the elimination of all crudeness and haste, and his delineations are consequently closer to life.
One is reminded strongly of Dickens in his admirable drawing of minor characters. Mrs. Bird is such a character....
The illustrations of the book are numerous and strikingly good.
Many of the scenes are intensely dramatic, and move the feelings to the higher pitch.... Even in the little concerns of the story the wealth of its imagination appears, glowing in the warmth of its liberal creations. There is a splendor in his description, a weird spirit in his imagery, a marvelous variety of detail, and at all points a creative force that give a perpetual freshness and newness to the fiction to which he gives his powers. To take up one of his fascinating books is to finish it and this story of 'Joan Haste' is not to be outdone by the best of them all. The strength, emphasis, and vigor of his style as well as of his treatment is to be credited to none but superior gifts and powers....
'Joan Haste' will become the favorite of everybody.
In this pretty, yet pathetic story Haggard has lost none of his true art.... In every respect 'Joan Haste' contains masterly literary work of which Haggard has been deemed incapable by some of his former critics. Certainly no one will call this book weak or uninteresting, while thousands who enjoy a well-told story of tragic, but true love, will pronounce 'Joan Haste' a better piece of work than most of Haggard's stories of adventure."
