SOME RECENT FICTION.

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 101, 28 April 1917, Page 16

SOME RECENT FICTION.

" Hack's Brat." By A. Lan Macleod. Hodder and Stoughton, London and New York. .

Novelists, no doubt, are often hard put to it to find suitable and striking titles for their works, but we shall probably wait long before we find so unattractive a heading as that which Mr. Macleod has chosen for this book. The average reader would on this account be inclined to let it severely alone, or, if he opened it at all, would do so ca.u-' tiously and with dread, with feelings akin to those of a traveller called upon to partake of an ill-looking native dish. But having once sampled "Hack's • Brat," the cautious Teader finds his misgjvings unfounded, and his interest is awakened and maintained till the end of the book is reached. It is an Australian story, located partly in Sydney and partly in the ■wilderness " out back." To a primitive mining township comes John Mac Lure, a mining engineer, sent to report on the pros.pects of the field. During a somewhat prolonged stay ifack, an old digger, dies, after consigning the "Brat," a girl about eight years old, to the care of Mac Lure, as the most likely and most civilised member of the rough community. The "Brat" has acquired the manners and language of the miners among whom she had lived, but in spite of these flaws, Mac Lure accepts the charge, and endeavours to conscientiously discharge his duties as a guar- j I dian. He sends the girl to Sydney, whero she is tamed and educated, arid 1 the voice which she happily possesses is tuned up to concert-pitch. Follow one ' or more love affairs, with the inevitable entanglements, the entry of 3nore characters upon the stage,' the clearing up of the mystery of the "Brat's" birth, and the happy ending.' All which may be duly commended as contributing to the reader's entertainment. " The Just Men of Cordova." By Edgar Wallace. Ward, Lock,- and Co., London, Melbourne, and Toronto. " The Just Men " are members of & small, singular band of Quixotic men, who assume ' various, disguises, from beggars to medical practitioners, in order to detect crime and bring to justice such criminals as manage to elude the vigilance of the police. The Brotherhood does not necessarily confine its attentions to Cordova; in fact, in the novel, London is the chief scene of its activities. Once a criminal is marked down by them he .has ho peace until he is laid by thel heels. The "Just Men," singly or in company, are sure to crop up suddenly and in the most unexpected places. They are mainly concerned in the book with a Colonel Black, "a bucket shop" proprietor, also a poisoner, whom the La Brinvilliers, the Borgias, or Tritchard the Poisoner would have been glad to have in their company. Needless to say, the Just Men catch Colonel Black in the end, but not without a desperate struggle in their chapel-like tribunal, in which one of the Brotherhood is shot. But Black's grim story is brought to a,n undignified close by his being hanged at Pentonville Prison, as a common criminal and murderer. So ends material enough for a thrilling seven-reel cinema film. "The Financing of Fiona." By Dorothea Conyers. George Allen and Unwiri, Ltd., London. This book takes the reader on. many hunting and shooting expeditions on the Emerald Isle. "A sporting story with a love interest running through it," aptly describes "The Financing of Fiona," and the plot, turning on a hastily-construct-ed , will, savours somewhat of melodrama. Fiona is swindled out of her. money by a villainous nephew, but she proves her independence, earning her living by accommodating paying guests. The idea turns out to be more profitable for Fiona than she imagined possible, for one of her guests happens to discover the truth. Readers who are not well acquainted with Ireland may find the story a little irksome, but others will enjoy it to the full measure. "Much Ado About Peter.". By the late Jean Webster. Hodder and Stoughton, London. Take a jovial, good-humoured Irishman, four mischievous children, and an atmosphere clean, unadulterated, and natural! Let your mind rest momentarily on the irresistible "Daddy Long, legs" and you know what to expect. "Much Ado About Peter" is a most natural and refreshing story. The author makes no pretence to thrill; she does not ever, attempt to tell a serious story. Yet she succeeds in all she sets out to do. The reader who is uncaptivated before' through- the first chapter is. to say theHeast, a dull person. Miss Webster's children—Peter knows them better as "young devils"—are lovable things, but by no means "angels." They would frown darkly if on© referred to them as "little darlings" or anything of that kind. Call them "Red Indians" and they would at once want to try to scalp their admirers. Old and young alike will find infinite pleasure in the doings of Peter and the other fascinating children. ■'