with that devastating dismissal ringing down through the decades, "the sacred fount" has not enjoyed a good press. many critics have thrown up their hands over what one early reviewer called a "brilliantly stupid piece of work." james himself omitted the book from the "new york edition" (1907-1909) of his fiction, one of the very few later novels not to make the grade. indeed, in a letter, dated march 15, 1901, to mrs humphry ward, james declared: "i say it in all sincerity – the book isn't worth discussing [...] i hatingly finished it; trying to make it – the one thing it 'could' be – a 'consistent' joke." (the other exclusion among the later novels was "the other house" (1896). "the outcry" (1910) was published too late to make the edition.)