DICKENS LOVERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 159, 8 July 1935, Page 8

DICKENS LOVERS.

AMERICAN PEOPLE.

AUSTRALIAN'S LONG TOUR.

OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS

After a 15 months' tour in the United States, during which he lectured in 600 schools, colleges and universities, Professor E. Stanley Brookes, of Melbourne, arrived in Auckland yesterday by the Aorangi on his way home. Professor Brookes is a grandson of the Rev. E. Stanley Brookes, a pioneer, of Albertland. The. family at one time- owned the Isle of Man, where the Lords Stanley ruled over it as kings. They issued their own coinage, and the "Manx penny," 1723, bearing the family coat-of-arms, was one of their coins. There are many members of the family now living in Auckland.

Mr. Brookes is acknowledged to be one of the world's leading Dickensian artists, and during his recent visit to America was made an offer to play the part of David Copperfield in the film of that title, which has since been screened. Unfortunately Mr. Brookes, owing to his university contract, could not accept the offer. Two years ago Mr. Brookes was elocutionary judge at the Wellington competitions, which are recognised as the biggest of their kind in the southern hemisphere. In 1924 he produced the first Australian radio play at 3LO, Melbourne, and he carried out the first experiments in sound effects in broadcasting at the same station. He also carried out the first experiments with the voice for the first Australian talkies. In the early stages of radio, when the "sets" had not reached anything like the standard of perfection that is common to-day, Mr. Brookes was tho only. teacher of radio speech in the world. Dickens Clubs in Schools. On his recent tour Mr. Brookes crossed the United States four times. His work wae to lecture on Dickens and to present Dickensian recitals to more than 5,000,000 American students. In some colleges he lectured to as many as 3500 students, and delivered five lecieres during a day. In one New York university there are 30,000 students, 'and this necessitated Mr. Brookes giving his lecture three times. "I cannot imagine any people admiring Dickens more than the Americans do," he said. "That is my carefullyconsidered opinion, and what pledsed me most wac3 that the students have formed Dickens clubs in schools and colleges for the purpose of presenting scenes and plays from Dickens' books. I have not heard of this in any other school or college in any other country." Mr. Brookes said he was wonderfully received everywhere, and was regarded as an unofficial good will ambassador from Australia. During his tour he sought every opportunity to strengthen the bond of unity between the United States and the British Empire. The Americans were keenly interested in Auetralia and the Canadians, and had a sincere admiration for the Australians and New Zealanders in particular. Study at a Speech Clinic.

After his lecturing tour, Mr. Brookes did research work in speech pathology at the University of Minnesota. "I was interested to find there one of the leadbig speech clinics in the world," he said. "They are using the films in the curing of stammering and all speech defects. They are bringing about definite cures. This work was one of the most interesting things I came across in America." Mr. Brookes expressed the opinion that it, will not be long before medical men would be diagnosing disease by photographing the vibrations of the voice. It was a subject in which he was specially interested. Dr. Kitchen, of England, successfully diagnosed and treated paralysis in its early stages through the method of photographing the- vibrations of the voice. He found that every disease had its own peculiar w"avefonnation when photographed. Mr. Brookes, while in Poplar, Montana, was adopted into the Sioux tribe of North American Lidians. He was honoured in memory of his father, a Buffalo Bill army scout, who became a member of the Ogalala Sioux Indians, with the name of Chief Red Bear. This name has now been conferred upon Mr. Brookes. Mr. Brookes carries with him a letter written in 1855 by Charles Dickens himself to Edwin Chapman, head of the Chapman and Hall publishing firm.