BOOKS REVIEWED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 299, 1 October 1935, Page 7

BOOKS REVIEWED

“PRINCE OF THE CAPTIVITY.”

A JOHN BUCHAN STORY. It is not surprising that “A Prince of the Captivity,” one of John Buchan’s novels, lias run through eight editions, for it is one of the most readable of that gifted author’s . works. Adam Melfort, serving a sentence for forgery committed for liis wife, reenters the world depriyed of the military career that even at an early age had made him a remarkable man. But he had come to the realisation that there was work for him to do. So when the Great War broke out he accepted service not in the open but in the dark. For four years he lived behind the German lines, and the pages that deal with this stage of his career are of absorbing interest. In fact, they would form a splendid tale of themselves. The war over, Melfort goes to Greenland to rescue a marooned explorer. Then he appears jn the background l of the post-war social and political movements, finally being a great factor in bringing about a good understanding between Britain and Germany. In this latter phase he encounters enemies as dangerous as any he had to outwit when in the secret service. The merit of the book lies in *the fact that with all its exciting episodes. it reviews in the manner for which John Buchan (now Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor-Gen-eral-designate of Canada) is famous, the tendencies that constitute the great international and national problems of to-day. Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd., are the publishers.

A PEDLAR ROMANCE. “Pitiless Choice,” by Margaret Pedlar, is now in its second edition, published by Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd The story tells of a girl who some time after the death of her great boyhood friend by drowning, falls in love with a stranger who rescues her from a motor thief. She is loved by a wardisabled) doctor, whose great crisis comes when lie discovers that the girl’s fiancee had a part in the early tragedy. Through a ne’er do well the girl learns the secret and then she has to make her pitiless choice. To those who like romance coupled with many exciting incidents, Margaret Pedlar’s book will appeal.

A MYSTERY STORY. “The Crystal Claw,” by William Le Quex, is, aS would be expected from such a writer, a mystery story of merit. The story concerns a. young woman who was presented with a crystal claw, emblem of a powerful secret society in China. Her possession of this ornament enlists on her behalf a wise old Chinese doctor resident in London, in rescuing her from peril of her life and solves the mystery of her husband’s disappearance a few days after their marriage. The hero is a young man to whose care the husband entrusted his bride before he left in response to the summons that ultimately sealed his fate. In his efforts to find the missing man the protector innocently plays into the hands of his charge’s enemies and renders the task of the Chinese doctor most difficult. Le Quex has established such a reputation that it is not necessary so say more than that readers acquainted with his previous works will not be disappointed with this, published by Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd.

A WILD WEST BOOK. Jackson Gregory is an acknowledged master of the art of presenting twilling adventure, his books dealing with the Wild West being as popular as his detective stories. In "Riders Aci'oss the Border,” which Hodder _ and Stoughton, Ltd., have just reprinted in a cheap edition,, the reader will be kept interested. The story begins with an unexpected arrival at a Mexican ranch of a party including a young lady and her aunt. The owner of the ranclie, Rogue Madden, carried out a surprise, depriving his approaching guests of c6nsiclerable valuables. Unfortunately someone supplies a sequel to bis joke by robbing him of his booty. The aunt, wlio lias been warned in New York not to accept as truth all that is told her, regards this episode and many more serious ones, including two or three raids by a bandit chief as a pleasurable part of the entertainment provided for her. By the time she is enlightened and her niece reaches a true estimate of their host, many exciting "events have taken place.