THE BOOKSHELF.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 103, 3 May 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE BOOKSHELF.

NEWS AND REVIEWS. D. H. LAWRENCE'S WORK. ENGLISH CLASSICISM. "Cyrano" writes about tlie Laureateship on page one. The centenary of the Manx poet,'!. E. Brown, is the subject of an article on page nine. A number of books are reviewed in the "Religious World." The working man's favourite adjective is just a warning that a noun is coming. —Dean luge. The only thing that gives our opinion dignity and comeliness is that it is our own, and not that of some other person. —Dame Ethel Smyth. It is stated that not for a single year since Rupert Brooke's death has the sale of his poems fallen below £4000. The "Yorkshire Post" hopes this announcement will inspire publishefs with the courage to back their judgments on the verse of new writers.

DISEASE AND THE WRITER'S MIND.

Mr. J. C. Squire writes in the "Observer" of D. H. Lawrence: — "It has for long" been 'obvious (the proverb 'de mortuis' is the; most preposterous of all proverbs, for only of the dead can we speak the whole truth) that Lawrence for years was suffering from some kind of galloping disease, whether consumption or another. Diagnosis along these lines can be overdone: witness Max Nordau's 'Degeneration,' which contains an immense amount of sense, but pushes things so far that scarcely an artist' could pass through his net. Yet the fact remains: certain diseases do make the senses more acute and the tongue more rhapsodical. 'The lunatic, the lover, and the poet are of imagination all compact,' and certain germs will give them partners. But even germs can work only upon the material they find already in existence. A Flecker or a Keats or a Stevenson, in the grip of consumption, being generous and affectionate, may become feverishly eager and vivid, but will only become his own generous self intensified. A vain, self-centred, grudging, morose ™n will be similarly 'screwed up,' but the results will not be so agreeable. Lawrence from the very beginning was suspicious of mankind and pre-occupied with sex and the sexual conflict. Critics, later on, may try to explain him in terms of complexes arising from circumstances, saying (inter alia) that he was over-conscious of having been a working man,, and that, when he was struggling to obtain his due recognition as an artist, the iron entered into his soul. Some allowances may be made for these factors; when Lawrence denounces 'respectability* and 'English ladies and gentlemen,' we can make allowances. Yet it must be remembered that other men, with other temperaments, have gone through as much as he and died younger than he without thinking it necessary to dcnouuce all the rest of the world or even to 'react' against their surroundings at all, retaining, indeed, in their misfortunes, faith, hope, and charity.

Lawrence, continues Mr. : Squire, was without common sense, humour, tenderness, or understanding of human character, but' he achieved things no' other writer has achieved.. In his work there is a "precious residuum" which will be treasured."

A MISCELLANY.

"The Emperor of China wished to ' puzzle the Japanese, and sent to thern to be threaded a jewel pierced with a hole from end to end, the passage-way being looped seven times in the midst. Skilled workers were baffled. Wise old Chujyo knew the trick. 'Catch two big ants. Tie a fine thread around their middles. Smear the distant end of the jewel with honey. The ants will crawl through to ! get the honey,> and the jewel (or bead) is threaded.'" So relates Lady Sei Shonagon, the Japanese lady whose little stories and "morals" have been put into English as. "The Sketch-book of Lady Sei Shonagon'' ( John Murray). The lady flutters from topic to topic like a hovering and alighting butterfly, but many of her sayings and etoryettea are worth | remembering. Quick and gentle are Japanese women, and such character shows here in English type. It may be many years before as many I gay English tourists as before the war choose an excursion to the castles of the Bhine as their holiday pleasure. The smart of the war is yet felt not only upon both sides of the great German river, but as far as the Thames,, the Parramatta, and the Wimganui. How-j ever, Mr. Malcolm Letts liaa prepared an extended guide book,. "A Wayfarer ou the Bhine" (Methuen), and with maps and illustrations makes, easy the way of him who lets the dead past bury its deadj and can take pleasure in beauty even in an ex-enemy country. The fifty pages devoted to Cologne will hardly attract the returned men of the army of occupation, but the author is ready for this, and says: "When the traveller leaves Cologne he will be wise to transport himself as quickly as possible to Bonn by car or train. It is not an attractive stretch of the river." Tire aerial maps ; are more useful than thousands of words to the traveller. Crosby Lockwood rrrrd Son, of Ludgate Hill, London, have sent us an invaluable aid to any man who contemplates entering the building trade or building a 'house for himself. "Every Man His Own 'Builder,'" by G. Gv Sainson, an author architect, now in it's fourth edition-, is a most usefully and beautifully ilfus'tratcd book, addressed more particularly to colonial readers, and containing detailed plans and instructions, warnings and advice invaluable, to anyone wishing to erect anything from one room to a mansion in any material'. 1 Plans, materials, tools, considerations of soil, site and climate, plumbing and drainage, all are here for quick and ready reference. In "Australia Beautiful," as an Easter issue by "Art in Australia," there are reproductions of both watercolour and photographic work, and several of both call for special comment. Of the fifteen coloured reproductions there are three in particubT which are typically Australian—"Mount Cambewarra," by S. Ure Smith; "Piccadilly Valley, 5.A.," by Eliott Gruner; and '"Calaminda," by the same artist. For brilliant contrasts Hans Heysen's work is more noteworthy. Mr. Will Ashton does similar studies, bnt he misses the sheen and sparkle of the sea, and one would be grateful for a little flake Avhite here arid there; if it would' remove the impression of immobility in waves and tide. Amongst the photographs we have selected "Gotilburn' River," "Bungeroo Valley," "Katoomba,'* and "Township at Bright"'as the best examples. It is a handsome,; beautifully printed publication, and displays local talent t© the best advantage. ;

Two Melbourne ladies have published through Angus and Bobertson an illustrated book of verse for childr&i. The charm and advantage of these clever little poems is that they are really for children, and not "grown-up" verses "written down" to nonsense with the idea of making them assimilable by juvenile readers. Sonia Hardie has hit the happy medium and made musical verses neither rubbishy nor wholly nonsense, but exactly w hat boys and girls will learn and remember. Nancy Dobeon is the artist.' "Story Time" is a gift book, and well "got up" and printed.

IX DEFENCE OF CLASSICISM.

That fine artist Austin Dobson, who flung his hat "for polish and for Pope," would have enjoyed the latest volume of the admirable "Hogarth Lectures" — Mr. Sherard Vines' "The Course of English Classicism" (Hogarth Press). To Mr. Vines Pope's "Essay on Criticism" "is poetry to anyone who is not deafened with a century of uncouth and agonised cries, whether from Shelleys, Brownings, Masefields or Mews." This is provocative, and we may expect some hard hitting from the Bomanticists. It also illustrates a defect in Mr. Vines' treatment of the subject. He is inclined to assume that his readers know too much. Many a colonial reader, eager to know what- there is to be said for classicism as opposed to romanticism, may ask— like the Oxford don who said "What are Keats?" —"Who are Mews?" He may be acquainted with many contemporary poets, but not with the late Charlotte Mew. Of all the writers who have contributed to the Hogarth Series, Mr. Vines has perhaps the hardest task, for he is explaining classicism to a public that has been definitely conquered by romanticism. "There may be glories of indiscipline," he says, "but can they outweigh its shames ?" He is consoling himself, no doubt, with the signs of a reaction in favour of Pope and perfection of form. Miss Edith Sitwell has just written a book defending Pope both as man and poet. Mr. Vines' book, which surveys the course of classicism in English poetry and art from Tudor times to the present day, is not as clear as it might be, but it is certainly lively.

NEW NOVELS.

"PILGRIM'S FORD." The reader who enjoys a pleasant, well thought out story can always rely on Muriel Hine to supply the want, for she tells such a tale with unusual competence. Her latest book, "Pilgrim's Ford" (John Lane), has for itrf setting a fine old mansion in Kent, which has been a treasured family possession for many centuries. Here lives John Grandison, retired K.C. and literary man, who acts as reader for a publishing firm, and writes clever essays on the deterioration of modern life and society. Into this well-ordered, studious existence comes Joy, the orphan child of his disappointing son, who has led a Bohemian life after marrying a Spanish dancer. The first half of the book is a delightful account , of the life of this little girl, brought into such charming old-world surroundings, and the close affection between the old man and his small half-foreign companion. Later on she makes an unfortunate marriage with a man of the world much older than herself, cold, calculating and selfish. We see the strengthening and developing of her character and how tradition and training come to her aid at critical momenta in her career. Miss Hine knows and loves the English countryside, and writes of it and its inhabitants with a sympathetic insight and understanding heart. The first part of "Mr. AbsaJom," .by Alan Sullivan (John Murray) is so full of mystery and there are-so many characters who evidently ar.e not what they seem that the reader is lied, to expect thrills from cover ! to' cover. The interest, however, wanes somewhat as soon as the mystery is; discovered, and the. denouement, becomes obvious. The main idea is that an eminent scientist' who is himself young after a century of Work, and has invented: miraculous ■ electric machinery wttich <*an keep a person or animal young indefinitely or disintegrate their atoms in a second, leaving no par-, tide of dust to testify to the : murder. He does, not seem to be. very particular as to which button he presses. No- ont can affirm that such inventions are not possible, for does not Lord Birkenhead, in a recent book, promise us more wonderful tbingsi in the future of the world than a mere prolongation of life 2 Mr.. Absalom, the.mysterious figure, in- Alan Sullivan's latest book,. • lias gathered round him a group of . notable 'people from all parts of the world, all: ricb v and eager to pay any price .for a longer lease of youth and. life. He engages as secretary Hector Court, yqung, athletic, and very sensible.. Between this young man and Mr. Absal6m's step-daughter there springs up' a stroug attachment, and they find themselves obliged to make a serious decision, on which depends the lives of all tlie scientist's patients. Little is heard of Mr. A. S. M. Hutchinson In these days. The enormous popularity of "If Winter Conies," which declined a little when "This Freedom" came along, has not been repeated, but Would it be reasonable to expect it to be? In the meantime, Mr. Hutchinson goes on Ms way undisturbed, writing slowly and not changing, in essentials, his method. In his latest novel, "The Uncertain Trumpet" (Hodder and Stoughton), there is nothing uncertain in the style. It has the hearty ringthat won htm Ms vast there is the same high colouring of character and the same 1 emphasis upon moral ideas. It Is the story of an evangelical: clergyman appointed to- a living in a village where the inhabitants have been accustomed to> follow the lead of their pagan betters, the landed gentry. The family of Flogg-Wallopers eat heartily, drink deeply,: ride hard, curse frequently, and tliinik of nothing but hunting. Into this atmosphere cornea the idealistic new vicar, and the story is the story of his fight with, the dominant powers. Mr.. Hutchinson tells it with characteristic vigour and earnestness.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Miss Veil Intervenes by J. E. Jeffery (Chapman and Hall). The Mill, D-y Norman Walker (Longmans). Rogue Herries, by Hugh Walpole fMacmiHans). The Rosicrucian, by Temple. Thurston; Lincoln, by Emll 1 Ludwig (Putnam). Wild Justice, by G. H. Birmingham (Jfethuen>. The Open Door and Mandatei System; l>.y b. Gerig (Allen and unwindThe Lively Peggy <; reprint), by Stanley Weyman; The Government of the British Empire, by E. Jenks U'eyiara edition); Tlie Reigir of Gorf, by S-n? r. Young-husband (John Murray)-. McLean Investigates, by Gv • Miss MUrctiie'B Holiday, by Jean O Riddel);. The Romantics, by Mary Roberts RIDcHart; One Summer, by Ruby M. Ayref> The Adventure of Being a Man (Hodder and Stouffbtoi'i). : The Fiery Cross, by bady K. Vincent; Daphne, Limited, fry Richard s ' al ' ■ The Transome Murder Mysteey, by Peter Luck; Hell's Kitchen,, tlie story or London''S underworld, by De Witt Mackenzie (Herbert Jenkins). Bond or Free, by Edward Sliann, MX; Knocking Round, by J. Le Guy Brereton (Angus and Robertson).