Marjorie Hill Allee - a children's author from Indiana, whose work seems to be roughly divided between historical fiction concerning the Quaker community of her home state, and (then) contemporary accounts of girl and women students with an interest in science - here focuses on a group of graduate students at the University of Chicago, all engaged in scientific study of one kind or another. Rooming together are: Anna Clothier, the motherly oldest, a calm and gentle Quaker working on the last year of her Phd. dissertation; Jenny Wilson, the kind-hearted graduate student assisting Professor Overman (head of the Zoology department) with his study of goldfish; Charlotte White, a brilliant, flamboyant, and quick-tempered Southerner working on an experiment in which plant and animal cells are combined; Helena Tietjens, a matter-of-fact Dutch student, studying in Chicago because her diplomat father is touring the country; and Merritt Lane, the youngest of the lot (and the one from whose perspective the tale is told), an undergrad working with grads. The narrative centers on Merritt's gradual incorporation into this community of scholars, and into the "Great Tradition" of scholarship itself, her growth as a scientist and a person.

There is romance here, although of a muted kind - thankfully, it does not overshadow the story - and social commentary, although not the kind I expected. Somehow, I thought that Allee would address the theme of women in the sciences more directly, perhaps discuss the difficulties and barriers female students faced - The Great Tradition was published in 1937, after all. But no mention is made of any of any of that, and Allee treats the topic of women studying biology and biochemistry in a perfectly matter-of-fact fashion, as if it is no more than what could be expected. After my initial surprise, this approach really appealed to me, giving the narrative a very contemporary feel - I can only imagine how liberatory it must have felt, for young women reading it at the time!

Unfortunately, its incorporation of racial themes, in the form of the sub-plot involving Delinea Johnson, an African-American students attempting to gain her Masters in one year, in order to gain a teaching position at a prestigious Negro college - although probably very progressive for the time - does feel dated. I say "unfortunate," because although some of the vocabulary used is dated or offensive - "Negro" and "Colored" are used, rather than "African-American," and one character uses the term "N*gger" a few times - and some of the themes and ideas might not sit well with contemporary audiences, I don't think Allee's narrative itself is racist, and I would hate to think that readers would be put off of reading it, for that reason. In fact, Charlotte, the character who uses the word "n*gger," and who embodies racial prejudice in the story, in shown to be wrong, and eventually (believably or not) at least partially changes her mind.

Questions of social commentary (anachronistic or otherwise) aside, The Great Tradition is just an engaging story, one that read well, and makes the reader care about its characters. I only wish that Allee had written a sequel, in which we get to follow Merritt on her six months study in the tropics! ( )