SOURCE: "Dorothy Canfield Fisher," in The English Journal, Vol. XXII, No. 1, January, 1933, pp. 1-8.

In the following excerpt, Phelps offers his appraisal of Fisher's early novels and summarizes the strengths and faults of her writing.

One day more than twenty years ago as I was at work in my house in New Haven, I was pleasantly interrupted by the advent of a distinguished-looking elderly gentleman accompanied by an extremely shy and timid young girl. The man was the librarian of Columbia University, formerly president of Ohio State—how fortunate to be able to exchange the terrible job of college president for the agreeable position of librarian!—and the bashful girl was his daughter Dorothy. Dr. Canfield never wasted time or words on preliminaries.

"This is my daughter and she has got to write a thesis in Old French for her Ph.D. at Columbia."

I said fervently, "God...