VARIED PLOTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 69, 18 September 1937, Page 26

VARIED PLOTS

SOME RECENT NOVELS

It is strange how inanimate objects achieve power, strange how they can grow in significance until they become a force and determining factor in people's lives. Such was the bridge in the little Irish town of Fert, which forms the pivot round which the story of "The Bridge," by Francis Stuart (Collins), revolves. Standing bleak against the pearly river, it held the secret destinies of two people, and it is the story of the bridge in conflict with these characters that makes Mr. Francis Stuart's new book "The Bridge" such a fine piece of work. It is not by any means a colourful novel, for its setting in Fert robbed it of romantic associations. But it is very real and possesses flashes of loveliness that place it among one of the finest of stories of modern Irish life. And what characterisation Mr. Stuart has given us! There are old Johnny Pidgeon and his daughter, the wild, strangely-fascinat-irig Orla, there are prim and romantic Mrs. Flynn and the newly-awakened Mr. Byrne, and there is the unforgettable portrait of the old nurse Liz. And the move against the old Ireland, and the Poteen makers Have shed" their net of mystery over the whole. No finer picture of women in conflict could be given. The love of Joanna Flynn and Norman Byrne is a beautiful piece of writing, and their splendid adventure in the darkened streets of the island of Fert creates a picture of lasting beauty. In "The Bridge" Mr. Stuart has given us a fine example of constrained writing and his descriptive work is a sheer joy to read. An excellent story dealing with the early days of the settlement of the United States is to be found in "Buckskin Breeches," by Phil Strong (Arthur Barker). The founding of the State of lowa provides the background for the story of a sturdy pioneering family on their 400-mile trail west of the Mississippi. Indians and privations threatened them daily, but they won through in the end, and another chapter was written in the history of the founding of the United States of America. "The Sixpenny Man," by W. Biley, a Herbert Jenkins publication, will delight the numerous admirers of the author of "Windyridge." The hero of this tale is a most kindly and lovable character, 'and the scenes in the Market Hall, where he has his stand, are most graphically described. It is a pleasing tale about a seller of books and contains .much philosophy and humour. . , "Sing Holiday" is an amusing novel about motor-racing. An old gentleman,, distinctly unusual in his outlook, travels from the Midlands to the Isle of Man and there meets a queer company of racers. Peter Chamberlain is the author, Arthur Barker, Ltd., being the. publishers. For sheer excitement, "Lost World, by Lady Kitty Vincent (Herbert Jenkins), will take a lost of beating. A girl is left a small legacy and joins a tropical hunting party. Their aeroplane, however, is forced, to descend in a thick fog, and the party find themselves in an unknown country. Adventures then follow in quick succession. Tribes are at war in their search for a cave wherein is hidden fabulous treasure, and there are more thrills per day for the party than befall the average man or woman m a lifetime. And, of course, there is plenty of romance woven into the story. For those who are connoisseurs in the field of detective thrillers, Mr. Peter Cheyney's new novel about Lemuel H. Caution will come as a pleasant surprise, for those who wish for anything as long as there is action and thrills, the book will be heaven-sent—in fact for anyone who wishes to read something that combines cleverness of pldt and swiftness of action, "Dame Don't Care" is one of the first they should choose. And what a grand character Lemmy Caution is! One can almost call him a second Robin Hood, for he swaggers through these exciting pages with a fine abandon, and a cynicism that will be the delight of every other cynic who reads this novel. There is a taste of Mr. Caution's caustic utterance on the wrapper "There's only one thing worse than one dame—and that is two dames!"