All That Was Possible

Howard Overing Sturgis (1855-1920), born into an affluent New England family in London, was an English author. He wrote only three novels, "Tim. A Story of School Life" (1891), "All That Was Possible" (1895) and "Belchamber" (1904), and one short story, "On the Pottlecombe Cornice" (1908). His works were praised by Henry James and Edith Wharton. --- Howard Sturgis' "All That Was Possible" is a successful psychologic study. Here is one "Mrs." Sibyl Crofts, who discreetly retires to a Welsh countryside after her London "past." She meets Robert Henshaw, a rigidly conventional squireen belonging to the neighborhood. At first he shows open hostility to Sibyl, a beautiful and charming woman, yet, as in time they become closely acquainted, Henshaw, though knowing her history, falls to her fascinations ... (The American Monthly Review of Reviews) --- Howard Overing Sturgis has has handled his subject with great skill and delicacy and with a remorseless logic that compels the reader to recognize the outcome as inevitable. The story is told in the form of letters, which can be used by a clever writer with excellent results. The letters, all written by Sibyl, are used as a vehicle for conveying facts, not as a medium for revealing character. The book is extremely interesting. It is so devoid of any preaching, yet so logical in its conclusions, that no thoughtful person can read it without acquiescing in the lesson it so quietly inculcates.(M. K. Ford; The Critic)


Genre: Mystery