NEW BOOKS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16359, 2 November 1918, Page 7

NEW BOOKS.

RECENT FICTION. "The Pretty Lady,'' by Arnold Bennett, is a wonderful picture of a certain phase* of life daring the war, the central figure being a French "cocotte"—■ facile 1n all the subtle wiles of her profession, yet, as the evjpnt showed, capable of making a tremendous sacrifice. Mr Bennett is here departing somewhat from his usual atmosphere of domesticity, but he has written nothing- more/rivid sand more appealing than this story. (London: Cassell and Co., Ltd. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs, Ltd.) . Those, readers who prefer the oldfashioned domestic atmosphere will find ii< in "Mies Gascoyne," by Katharine Tynan. It is a pleasant story of life in manor-house, the leading characters being two wholesome young women, who seem on the point of'' becoming two very charming old maids. Into the quiet milieu comes a robust young Englishman from South Africa —one of Cecil Rhodes's young men—and th e readers must find'out for themselves the. complications which ensue. (London: John Murray. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs.) "Where England Sets Her. Feet," , by Bernard Cqpes, isa story of life in tne spacious clays of Queen Elizabeth when Sir Walter Raleigh was a young man. The hero is a boy brought up by Mr Justice, Bagott, ot the Queen's Bench,. but a notable figure is the Sheriff j i Clerivault, a profound believer in England's greatness. "For where England sets her feet does not the primrose break ? • She brings the atmosphere of her free and equitable fields into whatever she enters, and straight from that lovely invasion are born the daily windflower that is our lady's : child and cowslips known for St. Peter's keys to Heaven, andf wira hyacinth, our own St. George's bells that fought and slew the beast, and radiant Mary-buds that cure most ills. These still spring up where'er we go like Thebes,, its towers, to our song and turn the soils wo tread to England. Or if we die, we die for England's sake.'' It is. a story of- patriotism in great days now bygone, but fit to be recalled at this juncture. (London: W. Collins and Co., Ltd., 48 Pall Mall). '.'Penny Scot's Treasure," by Frederick Niven, is a stirring story of. adventure among Indians in Calgary, in quest of the treasure supposed to have been hidden by an old trapper. Tho element of romance is supplied by an Indian girl- who falls in love with the vounc hero. (London: W. Collins and Co., Ltd., 4S Pall Mall).

Mr J. J. Bell, tho author of "Wee MacGroegor," has struck out in a new line in"Atlantic Gold." A jpung Scottish yachtsman, catt ashore on an island in the St. Kiida group, finds there, to his surprise a fine house, a very cultured ana hospitable man, as its owner, and a charming niece. There is every sign of affluence, and Dr. Helmsdale, the owner of the house, who is surrounded with-a good deal of scientific paraphernalia, is supposed to be making a huge fortune by extracting gold from the Atlantic. "He turns out in the end to b<» a very clever criminal. The story is well worked out, and the interest is sustained to the end. (London: Hodder and Stoughton.) In the "Green Mirror," Mr Hugh Walpole has given us one of his doJightful studies of English character. He has taken as his themo on this occasion, the Trenchard Family. The "father, about oO years of age, 15 "fat, jolly, self-centred.' writes about the Lake Poets, and lives all the morning with Lamb, Hazlitt, t and De Qmncey, all the afternoon with the world. as seen by himself, and all the evening with himself as seen by the world. The wife is a rather commonplace sort of woman, there is a son aged 19, just feeling the stir of adventure and ambition, and Katherine, the daughter—a girl with imagination and humour who is really the life of +r J^_ usual hum-drum household is transformcd, and things begin reaJljr to happen when a travelled young man, Philip Mark, suddenly niakes his out of a London fog. The boo k is «ritten before the war, but love of England is its dominant note- ( Macmillan and Co., Ltd., bt. Martin s street./ . 1

"Dream Child, Come True." by Marjory Royoe, is a charming but somewhat pathetic story of a childless wife passionately desiring children, contrasted with a mother who evidently does not appreciate her blessings. Two of the family belonging to the latter are adopted by the childless mother, and : the story of the joy they bring into the household is prettily told. (London: j Hodder and Stoughton.) j "Nothing But the Truth,'" bv Frederic S. Isham, i 9 reminiscent of Gilbert's ''Palace of Truth." In a rash moment "Bob" made a wager that for three weeks he w*>uld tell the truth absolutely to every one, and on every occasion. The appalling dilemmas in which he is involved by adhering to this rash undertaking aro very amusingly described. (London: Hodder and Stoughton.) "Whose Wife?" by Cecil H. Bullivant, is the story of a woman who, believing her first husband is dead, marries again, without tolling the second husband of the first. On the day of tho wedding the first husband puts in an appearance. Tho newly-married couple at once separate, and soon afterwards the first husband is discovered murdered in his flat. The wife is naturally suspected of the crime, and the second husband devotes himself to unravelling the mystery. It is full of excitement. (London; Herbert Jenkins.) CHRISTMAS CARDS. Messrs Raphael Tuck's Christmas cards and calendars are produced this with the artistic taste which has built- up' the reputation of the firm. The note is happily set by the Roval Family's seasonable greetings. The King has selected a reproduction of Howard Davie's painting of Sir Stanley Maude's entry into Baghdad, on March 11th, 1917. with the following extract from his proclamation"Our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, bnt as liberators." One cannot help wondering whether the Kaiser is sending out any Christmas cards this year, nm! if so, what kind of desien he can find that can in any way match this. King George's motto is taken from Tennyson:— A world of confidence, day after day, And Trust and Hope. The .Queen's card is reproduced from a painting by Howard Davie, entitled, "England and Her Daughters," representing the Mother Country, the Dominions. Colonies, and India, in the guise of fair women, all busy plying their needles on the Flag of Empire. Tennyson is again drawn upon for a motto: — Be welded each and all into one imperial whole: On© with Britain, heart and eonl! One life, one Flag, one Fleet, one Throne! Britons, hold your ownl For the Prince of Wales's card Howard Davie has painted apicture of Prince Edward, son of King Henry 111., in Palestine, in the year 1270. He followed Richard Coeur de Lion, who had taken Joppa in 1191, but, as wo are reminded, it was reserved for the Army of King George V. to the crowning glory of planting the_ British flag on the walls of Jerusalem in 1917. Queen Alexandra again selects a Scriptural subject— blessing little children." All the Royal cards are furnished with miniature calendars, and the fashion seems likely to be largely followed.