BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 304, 17 September 1921, Page 11

BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

(By

Liber.)

Give a man a pipe Ac can smoke, Give a man a book he can read; And his home is bright with a calm delight Though the room be poor indeed. —Jambs Thomson.

BOOKS OF THE DAY

Stephen Graham on the War. Mr. Stephon Graham, author of “The Challenge of the Dead" (Cassell and Co., per Whitcombo and Tombs) Is an able and always interesting writer, whose books on the Russian, peasantry and on his travels in the Caucasus and Palestine enjoyed before the war a considerable popularity. In "The Challenge iTt the Dead" he gives us what C. .calls "a vision of the war and of the life of the common soldier in France, seen two years afterwards, between Augtst and November, 1920.” Visiting the Xnost important battlefields and the deVaetated districts generally of northern and eastern France, he draws many 'dramatic pictures reconstructing various phases of the great conflict and describing the present-day condition and apipearanco of the all-to-many ruined towns Sad villages of the regions which bore ■ the brunt of the Hun invasion and octrunation. Mr. Graham a fine gift of description has full scope in such a book as this. It abounds in passages which effectively reconstruct IhH&e past. Hero is a sample ex'tract: 1 Vnrast It is aTI exposed mooriand way. No n ° the even progress of the wi ch Venetian ' •< sssssaips Its riven agonised Lord looking down day-an accidental symbol o. the power Of the Cross. . ,>• a I Ypres to-day is "terribly empty A ; big rush of curious tourists had evidently been expected, but do not arrive, gays Mr. Graham: Tt U said that the city will build itself SRdXSJi. Si come for an hour or ‘ v ° fro^ hE V o la u and tragedy which cannot be dispelled. Here is a picture of present-day Arras: • Arras, still lives surmounting of *i? er ’ Its massive AV A J. IK grown nibble below to mountnins of lime nence b a°ga <> inst t the pinky-grey Hreured wall S-ey or splotchy, with their eh.’»pnol marks Still on them, but th ere are other which are red and white, and these stana gaping with empty, glassiess vlndm You look on spangling new look on Noah's Arks yon look on half consumed, half-supported walls, you look on shadows which are pits whore houses wpto On the one hand is the lofty maß Btveness of the Episcopal Palace—on the other the irrecoverable smash: of poor men’s homes.; From ; all this great city helpw pious men and women used to come to dhe’oathedral, ■ but now no more shallthey <-am“ In the Epilogue to a book so much of whose contents is poetry in prose, a book so rich in spiritual suggestion as in’ dramatic description, the author reiterates "the challenge of the dead, "their challenge, to the. living. y ur men," he says, “did not die that i’d I #' land might become greater, but- that Europo- might bp saved from tyranny and greed, and it is for us and our public men to seo that their sacrifice shall never become barren." So mote it be. Messrs. Cassell and Co. also forward a copy of- a new and cheaper edition of Mr. Graham’s earlier book, "A Private tn the Guards." . This was reviewed tn The Dominion upon its first publication. In its cheaper form it will no doubt achieve an extended popularity. ■ It is one of the best of .the “soldiers books on tho .yvar.

“The Press and the General Staff."

Mr. Neville Lytton’s “The Press and the General Staff” (Wm. Collins, Sone, and- Co., per Whitcombe and Tombs), 1» nt once a very wito nnd witty book, in which there are many piquant. revelations as to certain curious, and in some cases, very unfortunate happenings in the war on the Western front. Mr. Lytton was in charge of all the British and Allied war correspondents nt General Headquarters, and in this capacity came into close personal contact with many leading commanders, both British, and French. For the post lie occupied ne had many special qualifications, having an extensive acquaintance with France and knowledge of the language. At first the arrangements'as to the freedom and scope given to the war corrogpondenta were almost chaotic, the general attitude of the General Staff towards the newspaper men being unsympathetic to the verge ot personal antagonism. As thp war proceeded, however, this was all changed, and tlioro was gradually developed an organisation of news service which is described by the author as “the'bent that existed, in any . army.” , _ -Mr. Lytton is extremely outspoken in his criticism of certain commanders, and here aud there the .tone of his remarks is disagreeably acrid. He has evidently a very high opinion of Field-Marshal Haig, and contends that it was to the brilliant tactics of Baig and his staff that the downfall of .the Huns in 1918 was mainly due. . At the same time, he he does not disguise his opinion that grave mistakes were made, one notable instance being the undue prolongation of the Flanders offensive in 1917, which entailed such colossal gaps in the Brlr tish ranks. Tn. this connection Mr. Lloyd George comes in for some severe criticism, it being alleged that while he insisted upon the British lines being extended he withhold the dispatch of the badly-needeil reinforcements. ,Whilst dealing incidentally with questions of strategy the bonk is largely devoted to an exposition of tho services of the correspondents, the difficulties with which they had ito contend, and the success they' achieved in furnishing the nuWic at home with clear and accurate descriptions of fho fighting

Mr. Lytton is a. shrewd observer and witty writer, and in the course of his book supplies many amusing pen portraits. It is to be regretted that more than once his sallies are far from being in good taste. For instance, he tells how ho was called to London to explain to the War Office the famous interview Haig gave to the French I’ross, an interview which, although intended as camouflage for indirect Gorman mystification, was interpreted in certain quarters as mere boastfulness and self-adver-tisement. Mr. Lytton thus describes his journey:

I motored to Calais, where, I was told, a destroy or would bo waitin p. To have a destroyer told off specially for me seemed to bo th© very summit of human creatnesfl, and I felt disproportionately proud; but at Calais I was met by a Staff officer of the base who informed me, with a dlsapDoioted air, that ho was expecting a "distinguished soldier," and he asked me if I had seen anything of him. I nearly raid, "I am the distinguished soldier, but luckily I refrained. It transpired shortly

afterwards that Sir William Robertson was the person in question, and that It , was his pet private destroyer, and.that I was only an insignificant portion of hia luggage. We travelled from Dover to London In a special train, and during ,tho journey the "distinguished soldier ’ sent for me, and said, “Well,, 'ave you anything to any to me? • • •” Mr. Lytton comes of an ancient and noble family, while Sir William Robertson is of humble /Origin, and rose to his present position right from the ranks ■by sheer grit and unassisted natural ability. Mr. Lytton’s sneer at a groat Englishman’s inability to manage the aspirate is, it seems to me, specially unworthy of an author who, by birth at least, might be supposed jto have ta gentlemanly regard for other people’s feelings. It is to be hoped that should a second edition of the book be called for, this offensive reference to Sir William Robertson will be deleted. The book contains some excellent illustrations from original drawings by the author. Australian Economic History. Some useful publications dealing specially with economics are being issued by the Workers’ Educational Association of South Australia. The latest addition to an Interesting series is “Modern Economic History: With special reference to Australia,” by H. Heaton, M.A., of the University of Adelaide. Mr. Heaton’s little book is a' very useful contribution to the literature of economics, his account of tho gradual development of various industrial and economic principles and experiments in the Commonwealth being of no small historical value.

LIBER’S NOT E BOOK

Stray Leaves,

Messrs. Ward, Lock, and Co. will be issuing shortly in their well-knowii Australasian Gift Book Series five now, important books. “Back to Billabong,” by Mary G. Bruce, is a continuation of the popular Billabong series. An interesting newcomer will be “The Ship That Never Set Sail,” by Jean Curlewis, daughter of Ethel • Turner. It was in 1894 that “Seven Little Australians” was written by Ethel Turner, and the sale has reached close on 100,000 copies. f lhe daughter is said to have inherited the gift of her mother, and a good future is predicted for her in the world of literature. New stories will also be published—“ King Anne,” by Ethel Turner; “The Best School of All,” by Lillian Pyke; and "Ginger,” by Isabel M. Peacocke.

When, I wonder, will Now Zealanders be able to buy a copy of Katherine Mansfield’s “Bliss,” a collection of short stories which has been one of the most eulogistically reviewed books of the year in England? Miss Mansfield is a Wc-llingtonian, and is the wife of Mr. J. Middleton .Murry, at ono time editor of tho "Athenaeum," and admittedly one of the leading English literary eritics. The book was published by Constables quite early in the present year, nnd yet it is still unprocurable in Wellington. Frederick O’Brien, whose White Shadows'in the South Seas” is such an excellent record of Polynesian wanderings, was, at latest advices, living, in a native village in Savaii, tho big . island of the Samoan group, and was intending to visit Apia, and, of course, Vailima. ’ ' , ... •„ Before tho end of the year there will be published, I hear, a new novel by the author of “Elizabeth and Her German Garden." The title is to be "Vera." Clement K. Shorter, in "The Sphere, belauds the novels of Miss . Constance Holme, whose “Splendid Fairing was recently awarded a prize by an English society whose namle I fail to recall. C K S hails Miss Holme as a latterday Jane Austen, and specially men ; ticns “Beautiful End,” “The Trumpet in tho Dust,” and “The Splendid Fairing." Apropos to lady novelists, I notice the “Hawthorndeu prize” for the best novel by a woman writer has been accorded to Miss Romer Wilson for her curious Norwegian story. The Death of Society,” recently . reviewed in The Dominion. It deals with a distinctly unpleasant subject, and is, in Libers humble opinion, far inferior to the same writer’s clever, story of an egotistical German musician, Martin bchu--Im-" The “New York Evening Post critic calls “The Death of Society” "mere moonish trash.” and he is not for wrong No new story by tho author of the once verv popular “Queed” has appeared for some time. Now, however, comes an announcement of the early nvih.ic-i--tlon of a storv called Saint Teiesa. from Henry Snydor Harrison s pen. “Queed" was a capital story, but I confess I found ite successors, W.V s Eyes and "Angela’s Business," eo drenched with sentiment as to be almost unread- " Futurist literature will, I fancy no highly approved of by schoolboys, that is if tho “elementary rules” -laid down bv Signor Marinetti, the leader of the Italian futurists, are to come into educational- fashion. For instance he advocates the total abolition of syntax. I he adjective must be abolished. and the adverb is to follow the same fate. "Everr substantive ’ must have its double," and, oh joy exceeding for my linotype and “reader” friends, there 16 to bo no more punctuation!" Mr. W. M. Yeats, the Irish poet, continues his interesting "Reminiscence* in the London "Mercury. One interesting confession is as to the origin of the well-known "Innisfree poem. 1 had still the ambition”, he says, “formed in Sligo in my ’teens, of living in imitation of .Thoreau on a little island in Lough Gill, and when walking through Fleet Street very homesick I heard a little tinkle of water , a saw a fountain, in a shop wl " do Y ? balanced a little boll upon its jet, and began to remember lake water. From t e sudden remembrance came m L ™ Tnnisfree,’ my first lyric with anything in ite rhythm of my own music. "Read! Lincoln would have walked miles for what you have at your door. So runs an advertisement m a western tm in the United States, concerning a P MrMlhomas Seccombe, whose name will bo well known to rcadePp of the English "Bookman," and other literary periodicals, has been appointed Professor of English Literature at the University of Kingston, Canada. It is to Mr. Seccombe, it now appears, that wo owe many of tho excellent first-page articles, notably those on the centenaries ot Scott’s novels, which have appeared in “The Times" Literary -Supplement, articles /which many discerning readers have, like "Liber,” cut out and pasted into the books to which they refer. “A Political Escapade: .1 he Story of d’Annunzio and Fiume," is the title of a book shortly to bo published by John Murray. The author, Mr. J. N. Macdonald, was in Fiume throughout the period of d’Annunzio’s great adventure. An English translation of Pierre Loti s "Roman d’un Spahi” is to appear very shortly in Werner Laurie’s “Lotus Library." SOME RECENT FICTION By the Author of “The Blue Lagoon.” A new story by Mr. do Vere Stacpoole. the author of those popular novels, "Tho Blue Lagoon” and "The Pools of Si-1

lonce," is always welcome, for Mr. Stacpoole has a happy knack of clothing tho purely romantic with an air ° convincing realism. In Satan (Hu - chineon and Co., per Whitcombe and Tombs) he deserts his favourite >ou Sea and takes us to tho Bahama Cays. A young Englishman named Ratchile is travelling on a yacht the property, of a pompous baronet. Becalmed pany with the yacht is a small easel, the Sarah Tyler whose crew consists of a brother and sis , , so-called because of ns when a boy—and Jude. lhe cull _ oa . pair attract Ratcliffes interest, a ? d after a tiff with his baronet host he leaves the yacht to go new friends. Satan and Jude, the offspring of a hardy old Yankee skipper take the young Englishman to their hearts, making him a partner i treasure-hunting expedition. lhe aa venturers have to encounter the opposition of some unprincipled rivals from Cuba, but the resourceful Satan, a though at times hard put to it to hedd his own, ingeniously outwits them. Meanwhile Ratcliffe falls in love with the slangy but warm-hearted Jude who dresses in hoy’s clothes, and 18 r ® Italy frank in her criticism of the Englishman’s attire and manner °f speech. A pleasant love story is contrasted with a record of dramatic happenings Satan with hie unquenchable appetite .to "salvage,” his ingenuity in euchring the greedy rascals from Havana who seek to rob him of the treasure m a delightfully original character and Jude should surely win the heart of y reader of the story.

“Fanny the Fibber.” Mrs. Horace Tremlett has gjxen us not a few very amusing novels amongst which I specially remember those most diverting domestic comedies, Looking for Grace” and “Platonic fetor. Her latest story, “Fanny the (Hutchinson and Co., per Whitcombe and Tombs), has for its heroine a fascinating little person, who, suddenly thrown out of employment, imagines a most ingenious device for obtaining . comfortable living, a device ,y> ased - aiaB ' upon an impudent ®endacity. the is really no. great harm in Fanny Allender’s "fib," but it involves, for the hitherto peaceable and happy Darren family, a long series of very awkward misunderstandings, some, of which result in situations of a riotously farcical character-situations, however, which seriously threaten the happiness of the easy-going Harvley Wareen and his, at one time, equally placid wife, Ursula.. The fibbine Fanny gets into more , than one verv tight corner, and her original offence is amply atoned by her pluck nnd resourcefulness. Tn a way she reminds me of some cf Mr. Pe Ridge’s quick-witted Cockney maidens. The story,, which ends in the fair Fanny finding a most eligible husband in a South African mining speculator, is written with all Mrs Tremlett s usual sprightliness and humour. Some Scots Stories.

Scotland—Scotland of the Highlands—is the background of four tales by Jane H. Findlater, collected under the title, "A Green Grass-Widow and Other Stories” (John Murray, per 'Whitcombe and Tombs). In the title story we. have a semi-humorous, semi-pathetio picture of life amongst the Tinkers, a class of wandering vagrants descended for the most part from some Romany-speaking gipsies who crossed from the Continent to England early in tho sixteenth century and made their way up north. During the war, when the menfolk of thpse Scottish Romany folk were called up, their wives suddenly found themselves, for them, quite rich with tho settled income which came to them from the War Office. Naturally they were rather bewildered by their change of fortune. Miss Findlater describes, with much humour, some of the strange ways in which many of them spent their unaccustomed wealth. The other stories all deal with Scots life in the war period. There is much unforced and effective humour in "The Hand That Rocked the Cradle, but the tragic element is not unrepresented both in this story and in "Compulsory Rations." The author is thoroughly. at home in depicting Scottish rustic life, and is specially effective in- her. handling of juvenile character. “The Judgment of Charis.” The heroine of Mrs. Baillie Reynolds’s story, “The Judgment of Charis” (Cassell" and Co.; per Whitcombe and Tombs), is a peer's daughter, who, in search of “distractions,” leaves homo and all that wealth can give her, and becomes a typist. In this capacity she .makes the acquaintance of a middleaged Canadian lumber magnate, George Strachan, who >falls in love with her. But Charis is attracted by Gilbert Cran-stoun-Brown—time was when there was no hyphenation, when the Browns were “in leather” —and although for a time class prejudices prevail in the heart of a young lady who affects to despise them—the course of true love has finally a very satisfactory ending. Mrs. Baillie Reynolds is a born story-teller, and in "Charis" she gives us a very charming, if wayward, heroine. The elder Crnn-stoun-Brown and . the heroine’s aristocratic relatives are well drawn, and the dialogue is bright and entertaining. “Storm Country Polly.”

“Storm Country Polly” (Little. Brown and Co., per Whitcombe and Tombs) is an -agreeably-told story by Grace Miller White, whose “Tess of the Storm Country” found much lavour with New Zealand readers last year. The background is a country district in northern New York State, where a colony of "squatters” inhabit a settlement called the Silent City. The heroine is the daughter of the so-called "mayor” of the settlement, and acts the good angel to some sorely persecuted poor folk. Rough mannered, even tempestuous at times, Polly has a heart of gold, and the reader will follow her fortunes with unabated Interest until the final page is reached of a well-told and very exciting story.

“Helen Marsden.” Those who remember that clevei story, "Jan," will welcome Miss Morgan. Gibbon’s second effort, "Helen Marsden” (Hutchinson and Co., per Whitcombe and Tombs). In her new story Miss Gibbons traces the much-varied fortunes of a heroine to whom wo are first introduced when, a small child, she is being “brought up” by a selfish and cruel Anglican clerygman and his equally objectionable wife. She is fated to pass later stages of her life in a most unsympathetic and uncongenial environment, but we leave her, in the final chapter, with a fair promise of future happiness with the faithful Billy, who was her champion and slave in her childhood. Helen is a many-sided girl who at first is scarcely a very engaging personality, but she steadily improves ns the story develops. There is a subsidiary sentimental interest in the love affairs of Joan Marsden, who loses, but finally wins back, her husband's affection, er/, of Adrian Marsden and his wife Nancy. The dialogue is brisk and bright, and the story as a whole very readable.