MISCELLANY

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28559, 12 April 1958, Page 3

MISCELLANY

Another Window Seat. By R. H. Mottram. Hutchinson. 255 pp. Readers of Mr Mottram’s intimate personal. study of Ada and John Galsworthy, “For Some We Loved,” (reviewed in the columns about six months ago) will be delighted by this new volume ol personal reminiscences begun so candidly and unpretentiously a few years ago in “The Window Seat.” In this second book of memoirs he continues his autobiography or (as he puts it on the first page 1 ) “the observation of life” from his homely vantage point in Norwich. He begins from where he left off as a soldier returning from the 1914-18 war and brings his leisurely chronicle of the years up to 1953. He tells of how he began life as a bank clerk, became famous for his novel “The Spanish Farm,” and finally in 1952 how he was elected Lord Mayor of his native city. Mr Mottram is a typical Englishman with a healthy pride in his home-town activities At the same time he has always been interested in wider affairs, and those who have lived through the same years will enjoy his thoughts about the general strike of 1926, about the financial crisis of 1931, about the Nazis and so on Towards the end of the book he describes an international P.E.N Congress at Buenos Aires, and his lectures to the troops during World War 11. The last war had indeed a profound effect on his own life, for he was the father of two sons, one serving in submarines, the other distinguishing himself as a pilot. This book ends, as it began, with the hard-won return to peace. Mr Mottram writes smoothly and with an unself conscious simplicity that leaves a most pleasant impression.

Anglers’ Fishes and Their Natural History. By Eric Taverner. Volume XXXIV in the Lonsdale Library. Seely Service and Co.

Anglers who read this book will find in it virtually all they want to know about fish. Those who want to know more will find a bibliography that will lead them to further study. Species of fish and representatives of species arc fully described by letterpress, diagram and photograph Anatomical structure and reproduction methods are dealt with in detail The growth-rate of fish in particular waters is described, and there is a wealth of detail about vegetation, flies, beetles, worms, etc. upon which fish feed. Anglers will be particularly interested in a section describing what matters a great deal to them—the range of a fish’s vision. A comprehensive study of the subject includes chapters on crustaceans and molluscs. and there is a glossary and several appendices. The format, binding and production of the book ar ein the now-traditional high standard of the Lonsdale Library The Lost One. By Henry Beaudout. Hodder and Stoughton. 192 pp.

On a number of occasions since the epic voyage of the Kon Tiki people have cast themselves adrift on rafts in an attempt to perform similar feats to.. that of Mr 'Heyerdhal and his companions. This book tells the story of one such group who tried to cross the Atlantic from Canada to Europe by making use of the Gulf Stream. Their first attempt ended in failure? their second was successful. After many privations the three men who comprised the crew, and two kittens, made landfall in Falmouth harbour. The story of their journey is told with modesty and humour and is illustrated with photograph*.

Revolution and Roses. By P. IL Newby. Cape. 256 pp.

The revolution is the one that led to the. rise of Neguib and Nasser and the abdication of King Farouk. The roses are bought by the Egyptian patriot, Lieutenant Yehia, for the English journalist, Elaine Brent. In the heat and confusion of revolu tionary Alexandria a group of English people, a family of Alexandrian Greeks and Lieutenant Yehia. become entangled in an entertaining drama. Perhaps the writer should be criticised for. setting a merely entertaining story’ against a background which has turned out to bq serious enough in its repercussions for the rest of the world, but there is nothing improbable in the story. We may be a little puzzled about the point: of it all, unless the point is that in any surroundings life goes on and that people might fall in love with small regard for the political and cultural barriers which are important in a different sphere. It seems best to regard the novel as light entertainment written by a technically very skilful writer capable of greater power in dealing with a more important theme, but in this lighter story still showing an outstanding ability to catch the atmosphere and character of the place and people he writes about. To The Fair Unknown. By Andre Maurois. The Bodley Head, t 175 pp.

Biographies and autobiographies have enjoyed a tremendous popularity during recent years. Some of them, notably those bj writers of the calibre of Lytton Strachey and Andre Maurois, have set a new note in modern literature. Such a book was the semi-imaginative treatment of Shelley titled “Ariel.” Now the writer of that delightful romance gives us his personal philosophy in the form of a number of letters written to a lady whom he calls “the fair unknown.” The letters cover many subjects, contain much wisdom and are spiced with the French approach to life. Though translated, they have not lost the clarity for which the French language is noted. The result is a delightful little book filled with mature opinions, delicately communicated. It would make an ideal gift for an appreciative friend. From Earthquake, Fire and Flood. By R. Hewitt. Allen and Unwin. 203 pp. Starting with a general discussion on the natural agents oi disaster, the author of this interesting book goes on to pro vide an overall picture of the major catastrophies which have overtaken men since recorded time. No new theories are advanced, the known is merely recorded and an attempt is made to provide an explanation. In this way meteors, earthquakes, lightning, volcanic eruptions and the like are treated scientifically to help provide an understanding of what they comprise. A sense of participation is provided in- the form of eyewitness accounts by survivors. Those interested in natural phenomena will find this history an ideal reference.

Jan Masaryk. By Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart. Putnam. K 0 pp.

This simple tribute to the memory of Jan Masaryk records a friendship between two outstanding men. It also records the end of freedom in Czechoslovakia. No one will read it without being deeply moved.