LITERARY NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 124, 21 November 1931, Page 19

LITERARY NOTES

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

A London paper reports that, finding they have less money to spend on luxuries, people are buying more books than they did last year. ' '.

M. Tabouis, whose "Private" Life of Tutankhamen" was crowned by the French Academy, lias now written a biography' of Nebuchadnezzar.

Lady Oxford and Asquitli is engaged on a further volurno of reminiscences. Her piquant "Autobiography," published in 1922, created a sensation.

According to the "Daily Telegraph," London booksellers have arranged the sale to a foreign collector of a. Gutenberg Bible with, one leaf missing. The price is believed to be at least £30,000.

Mr. John Masefield, the Poet Lau-' reate, is preparing a new volume of poetry embodying his own conceptions ■of various great figures of legend and fairy tale.' . . ■ .. .

Sir.lan Hamilton,, who matches his sword with his;pen, has a now book coming along. He has written it from material supplied by Mr. Justice Sampson, and it concerns the surprising adventures of the late Mr. Woolls Sampson in the South African War.

A translation of Homer's "Odyssey," on' which Colonel T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") has been engaged for some time,-will be published shortly in an edition limited to 500 copies, the -price of- which, it. is said, will be £12 12s each. :

' "When Mr. Itudyard Kipling T was'in India, a friend used to send him a 'certain magazine with- the advertisement pages torn out, to save postage. This did not please Mr. Kipling, who replied: "Send me the advertisement pages in future. I can write stories myself."

Arnold Bennett's hitherto unpublish-. edvstqry, "Venus Rising-from.tho Sea," will-be issued, soon by Messrs. Cassell in 3; limited edition, with illustrations by jJ.JM'KnigK't Kaufter. Another posthumous work in the press is Prank Harris 'k- biography of Mr. Bernard Shawy which will be published by-Messrs. Victor Cfoliancz. ••• ■ ■

The; "British Museum' Quarterly " announebs that in the department of manuscripts, the mast important recent accession is a strip of -vellum containing: a series of miniatures of tho life ofSt. .John the Baptist, dating from the late-..twelfth century, and purchased from a private owner. The collection of papyri has been enhanced by a property sale contract between a farmer and a cemetery priest, dated 244-243 B.C.

Earl Jeliieoe writes a commendatory preface for a book of naval memories by Admiral Sir Hamnet Share, and its spacious, atmosphere is suggested by the title, "Under, Great Bear and Southern Cross." Sir Ham'nct first wentio.£ea. jn. the.y_e;ir.lßßo,_when sail had half departed from the Navy and steam had half-arrived. Ho was Lord ' "Jeilicoe's secretary on the Iron Duke •in-the.Great War, and afterwards at the Admiralty.

T.ho publishing house of Putnam haviiigift hand'a limited edition of the cor-, resporidencc between Bernard Sliawand Ellen. Terry, discussion arose about the binding, which is to be green. Shaw didn't like the samples Putnam submitted, and. he wrote: "Get some chameleons and put them on a tree.' They will immediately take on a bright green colour. Then catch them and skin them before they have time to turn brown,, and use them'for binding the book. It may be difficult to find 600 chameleons in New York, but you get the idea."