LITERARY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 11, 12 January 1918, Page 14

LITERARY.

Principal L. P. .lacks has completed his biography of the late Stopford Brooke, which has been published in two illustrated volumes by Mr Murray. Tlie subject of this work vvas a remarkable irlari. He wielded ah actual influence ill the worlds Of religion; art and literature; tlnd although his independence of thought caused him id retire from the service Of tile Church* tie possessed so vigbtoUß a jlerSiihatity that his influence was Vfefy widely spread; Dr. .Tacks, his Sbn-iti-iavv, has had access to Ultimata diaries and other documents. The old Glasgow publishing house df Collins has taken new London offices in Call Mall, and under the enterprising guidance of Majbf Godfrey Collins; M.P., is embarking upon a Wider sphere in the book world. Tliri firth's list Of announcements promises new hovels by Writers like Mrs. Humphry Ward, Mr. Maurice Hewlett, Mr. E. F.' Benson, and Mr. Marmaduke Pickthallj also ttvo posthumous stories by Henry James. One is entitled "The Ivory Tower,'' and the other is called "The Sense of the Past." These* though unfinished, are supplemented by a sketch, written by Hehfy dairies, which Fully unfolds the Story. "The Kayner-Slitde Amalgamation*" by ,T. S. Fletcher (Allen and Urtwhy,* is a capita' detective stbfy, in which a Yorkshire manufacturer personally enters on the task of hunting down the murderers of his cousin. He is joined by various other amateur detectives, who are tempted by a reward of £50,000. All sorts of trails are followed, some leading towards the desired goal, and some spoiling sthe scent. The end is a surprise. Mr. Bennets Copplestone does not believe that the British Secret Service is sb incapable as soiiie of its critics assert, jln "The Lost Naval Papers" and other jstories (Murray) he records a number or clever achievement* under the direction |of Scotland Yard agents* by which GerIman spies in various ranks of life were j tracked down and plied with misleading information for the benefit of their employers until it suited the Secret Service to lay them by the lieels. These exciting stories, ttloitgli fictitious, are claimed to represent the Secret Service as it really is—"silent, unsleeping, ah.l supremely competent." "The Baked Bread." by the author of "Boy of My Heart" " (Hodder and Stoughton), takes its title from the proverb. "The baked bfead clan rieVef get back to the dtttigll." which the itiilhcff illustrates in the case of a beautiful j young woman whose lack of moral stability has placed her in an awkward dilemma. The heroine's frivolous mother, Mrs. Frayne. is not lacking in shrewdness, and another personality. Lilith Rockray. who figures actively in the story, has a good deal to say on the diverse phases of love. The novel possesses a certain smartness, but is not on the whole a very notable literary production. ■ " l Among war characters in fiction "'Ginger and McGlusky." as presented to us by Mr. A. G. Hales, will remain prime favourites. The big Australian Scotsman has the gift of hiimour combined with primitive passions that make him a firm friend and dangerous enemy. The episoJes in his enreer combine feats on land and in the air, in both of which he is aided by his staunch henchman, the plucky little Irishman. Both are admirable types of the devil-may-care soldier who meets fate with unshakable cheerfulness. McGlusky'a experiences at Gallipoli. where he trained a Maori corps, have already been read with gusto in his "Great Adventure." The publishers are Hodder and Stoughton. Mr. Hales dedicates his book to "the wonderful women who have so royally acted as nursing sisters to the Empire's matchless men." Mrs. Wharton's new novel. "Summer" (Maemillan), is the story of a girl of naturally fine instincts, so heavily handicapped by her birth and early training that she cannot realise her aspirations in connection with the man she'loves. It brings into strong relief the narrow, restricted life of the villagers of New England among whom Charity Royall's life is cost, and the rebellion and strivings of the young girl are finely imagined and described. It will he seen that Mrs. Wharton's theme is concerned with the tragic side of life, and it may be said that her new book has all the surenees of touch, the exquisite descriptive power, and the close analysis of a moving human problem, which distinguish her earlier works. Sydney de Logue, an Australian writer who utilised his experiences as a soldier at Gallipoli in a very readable book entitled "Straits Impregnable," has now published, through Angus and Robertson, "Pelican Pool." a novel dealing with life as it is found in an up-country Queensland district. The author has' qualified for his task by experiences ranging through several Australian States, and has already contributed to Australian literature a book of popular interest in "We of the Never-Never." Tn "Pelican Pool" we get into touch with primitive thinas. The men and women belong to a type that has been fashioned under the hard conditions of li f e on n Queensland station. Tncident.illv there is a pathetic love story, which has a tragic ending. "The Bed Planet," Mr William J. Locke's twentieth novel (Lane), describes certain war incidents in England and at the front, from the point of view of a soldier, who was paralysed in the legs through injuries sustained in the Boer war. Major Duncan Meredyth is an interesting personality. Fond of gossip, he comments freely upon the doings of his neighbours,and is unsparing in his denunciations of shirkers and pacifists. He extols his own courage and patriotic enthusiasm with a naive lack of reserve or undue modesty that is amusing, and his manservant, Sergeant Marigold, plays up to his employer in this role admirably. A Captain Leonard Boyee comes into the story in a dual capacity as faithless lover and a soldier on whom the stißpicion of cowardice rested rather heavily. It appears quite certain that this man, when first under fire in an attack on a Boer farm building, was absolutely panic-stricken, and covered bis cowardice by lying: yet during the fighting in France he engaged in such desperate exploits with the determination to wipe out the early stain, that a V.C. and D.S.O. were bestowed upon him with the rank of lieutenantcolonel. His case raises the question of the relative courage of a man who never experiences a sense of fear, and one who fights fear down. The women of the story arc attractive, especially Betty Connor, who suppresses her love for Boyee because Bhe believes him unworthy, and marries a gallant young officer from a sense of duty to the nation. The local squire and his wife are English gentlefolk of a good type. Without the aid of anything, substantia] in 'he form of a plot, the story never grows dull. Our copy is from Geo. Robertson and Co., Melbourne.