LITERARY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 130, 3 June 1922, Page 23

LITERARY.

"Science Progress," Mr. John Murray's quarter!, magazine, in its April issue, contain-, amongst its interesting and varied ciiit.iits. an illustrated article on "Spitsbergen: Its Natural History and ltcsourccs.'' From this we learn that the climate is so bitterly cold tJiat the active period of life is practically confined to the .summer months--.lune, .It.iy anil Aii-iisi yet e\c-n in winter, wh n the land is deeply covered with snow, reindeer, Arctic fox and Polar bear survive. The reindeer, with its snjwecraper antler-. uncovers succulent mosses ntni lichens: the bi„r .h.mtts Chiefly in the sen: and the Arctic fox preys on ptarmigan, which also si/bs'sts on vegetation beneath the snow. The land is destitute of trees, although fAssil remains prove the existence in past ages of extensive forests, including trees and plants no-i only found in tro >ical or sub tropical regions. Coal, equal to the best Welsh coal, is bping worked under these inclement conditions. Besides the customary series of articles, surveying the advances of science in its various divisions, the April issue of this comprehensive magazine contains yther popular articles, such as "The Pla :e of Instinct in Our Social Life," nnd "The Mental Ability of the Quakers." In an article on the "Kinstein Theory of Relativity." D. Langharne-Thornton, M.A., conteni'-s that Einstein's theory does not take away any of thp brilliance which is shewn in Newton's monumental labours in the world of physics, but "the new Relativity comprises the old. but. in addition, it includes considerations which are not part of the Newtonian Relativity.'*

Mr. Melrose's £250 prize novel competition has resulted in an award to a novel entitled "Secret Drama," by Isabel Beaumont. The pseudonym covers for the moment the identity of a writer who has made at least one other successful essay in fiction.

"The Film of Fortune." by Monica Ewer I Met huenl. takes ns into film-land. The scene is not laid in Log Angeles, but in England, and the story describes the desperate financial straits of some ingenious and ambitious young men and a maid, and the daring and adventurous ways in which they got out of them.

"The Haunted Woman," by David Lindfay (Methuen). is the story of an old Sussex house with a sinister influence. lobel Loment, an engaged girl, fascinating, popular, nnd capricious, visits it, in company with her friends, in a spirit of light-hearted curiosity, but almost immediately falls beneath its weird spell. She is drawn to the house again and again, with ever-increasing momentum, until the catastrophe occurs.

A humorous view of Welsh life is presented in Mr. Rowland Johns' "Mind You" (Methuen). It comprises a series of sketches nnd an ex-change of confidences between Lewys Lad and his friend Shadrach. These open up to readers intimate and characteristic pictures of Welsh life. The book is full of fun and delightful situations. Every discriminating reader will delight in Lewys Lad and in the author's happy vein of humour.

"Fig Blossom," by Hilda Balleine (Methuen 1, introduces us to the life, social customs, and superstitions of Jersey. Tt is a charming and tender story" The outstanding character of the book is a crazy old man with a strange mystical personality. The romance is that of his niece, Peronelle, with whom, true to its proverbial waywardness, love runs a rough and devious course. Interest in her fortunes is well sustained, and the reader's emotions arc pleasantly stirred by events which might easily enter into the record of the most commonplace life.

"The Heart of a Slave Girl," by Anthony Armstrong (Stanley Paul), is a story of Rome, in the time of Nero. The dissolute court, the corruption of Roman society, the superstitions of the age, and the gladiatorial contests enter into the narrative, which concerns the fortunes of a .beautiful Sicilian maiden, of patrician rank, who has been brought to Rome by a woman of the Roman aristocracy with the idea of advancing her own interests by the sacrifice of her ward. The girl escapes and is sheltered in an obscure home, where she is betrayed 'by an Egyptian slavc-gri rl, who afterwards embraces Christianity and strives, by a noble act of self-sacrifice, to repair the wrong she has done.

"Open the Door!". Mrs. CarsweH's first novel, appeared in 1920, and instantly attracted wide attention as an extraordinarily lifelike study of a young woman, conceived with unusual sincerity and expressed in sensitive and brilliant prose. "The Camomil," Mrs. Carswell's second novel, published by Chatto and Wind us. is also a study of a Scottish girl occupied in discovering a livelihood and way of life. By means of a diary, with careful plan and apt choice only of the significant detail, the girl reveals herself to us, and tells of her experiences and observations of life. The result is a portrait not only of an intense henestv and truthfulness, but also of that peculiarly exciting interest that so strongly appeals to those who. value the rarity and privilege of getting behind the scenes in tho human be art.

"Europe in Convalescence," by Alfred E. Zimmern (Mill* and Boon), is a review of world conditions, and especially those existing in Europe, as ft consequence of the war. The author starts from these premises: 'TVe have won the war negatively but not positively, -or, to put it in less "strictly accurate language, we have, so to speak, so far lost the peace. The war has wrought havoc in Europe in three fields—the political, the economic, and what may be called the field of ideas." Mr. Zimmern summarises, at considerable length, the progress of the war. more especially in its economic bearings. He dwells upon the difficulties which the various Governments had to face when the vast aTmies Mere disbanded. Of the League ol Nations. Mr. Zimmern says: "The League is still a plant of tender growth: but. no one who has seen its staff at «ork. and considered the range and volume of the business entrusted to it. can doubt that it stands not merely as an idea and a symbol, but by virtue ot substantial achievement." Nevertheless, he is convinced that "the League is not doing, nor is it likely to do. the work for which it was designed," but it is an indispensable part of the machinery ot civilisation, and is daily increasing in usefulness. With regard to the forces e-«ential to recovery from war losses, Mr. Zimmern lays great stress on the value of capitalistic enterprise, "which is more needed, is worth more to European so, iety. than at any time since Europe was first opened to modern industrialism in the first half of last century." He discusses the question of rerparation in lt= pennomic and moral aspects, and con -i 'cr- t'lat : t wpl ho vise fn- Britain t" modify her war li.iim- n_ ,: " ! >rni".ni

_iii -? r _ fidion of tlle detective class "lit find good entertainment in "The -yttlcton Case," by R. A. V. .Morris (Coliinsj. ihe story concerns the .baffling problem ol the mysterious disappearance ol Sir James L.vttleton. He sent a curt "ire announcing his departure for America, and then completely vanished. It was the chance discovery of a body floating in a stream in Sussex which provided (he first clue, for there were several very singular facts about it. and one day .Tames Lvttelton's body was jound in another man* coffin. The trail became clearer, but was still complicated by several side tracks which led in wrong directions before the murderer is finally run to earth. A fine crime story by a clever young author. Cur copy from Whiteombe and Tombs.

The monthly illustrated magazines for March and April, received through the agency of Messrs. Cordon and Coteb, cater for every kind of taste. Pearson's stars a new Bintlle story, nnd in a personal sketch of Charlie Chaplin. Thomas Burke pictures him as "the tragic comedian," a light in which he has not yet been presented to Ins admirers. "Thp Wide World" undertakes to tell its readers the strangest ghost, story they have ev< r read. "The Crand" claims P. 0. Wodehouse's "Adventures of Sally" as "tiie most amusing story ever written." rather "a large order." "The London" features. to use a favourite cinema phrase. "The Rules of the Came," a striking Society article hy Lady Diana Cooper. "The Premier" rests its claims to public favour on short stories by Katlilyn Rhodes. Valentine Williams, Mny Kdginton, and Albert Tcrhune. In Harmswnrth's "Red" magazine Ethel M. Dell's novel "diaries Rex"' commenced in tho last issue, establishes a hold on new readers with a full synopsis of the first instalment. "The "Yellow" magazine has secured a good representation of the popu'ar c-hnrt story- writers of the day. including Fred M. 'Wbite. A. M. Rurra.o. and E. Norman Torry: it also continues the serial "The Tavern and Arrows," by Anthony Carlyle. "Mv Magazine" under Arthur Mee's editorship, maintains its high reputation for instructive articles presented in popular form.