NEW BOOKS

Evening Star, Issue 22032, 18 May 1935, Page 6

NEW BOOKS

’ IN COMMAND ' F. E. .Mills Young has written about ■lO novels. The latest by this author, ‘ In Command ’ (Hutchinson and Co.), is an excellent talc. Captain Guy Slienston, a voting merchant seaman, is engaged to a pretty English girl. Ho lias been waiting to marry her till bis financial position is sounder. Then on the homeward run the pilot gets his vessel aground. As a consequence Shenstou is dismissed his ship, which was not damaged. The girl bad already been getting impatient, and this mishap ends the engagement. Shenston at the same moment receives an unexpected legacy. He resigns from the sen ice of the company, goes to South Africa, and has varied and interesting experiences, amorous and otherwise. In the cud \ye see him back on his old ship again, rparried to a maiden to. whom lie had been of great service .on the South African veld. It is a - brisk and interesting story. One feature that lifts it above the ordinary is the realistic picture of the veld in Time of drought, with soniq vivid pen pictures of the Boer and British inhabitants of the sparselysettled areas. Our copy is from WhitcOmbe' and Tombs. •

‘ EARTH’S QUALITY •

‘ Earth’s Quality,’ by Winifred BirIrett (Angus and Robertson), provides another illustration of the body of literature that is being built up in Australia. No longer do we get books that might have been written in England if the'names of a few places in the Homeland were substituted for those'in Australia. The new writers know their country. They have the experiences of a hundred years to work upon. That is a brief period in the life of a nation, but still some definite characteristics have been established, and the historical background provides a satisfactory basis for a writer. Miss Birkett lias the gifts of humour, understanding. and sympathy, and no little literary facility. This land of much sunshine produces a joyous, carefree fcvpe of individual along with the more serious settler, who has to contend with droughts and floods and other handicaps imposed by Nature. Miss Birkett’s writing is so natural and convincing that the reader realises that he is being presented with the true pictures of life in the Australian backblocks. This hook must rank with the best work of Australian writers.

•NO ORDINARY VIRGIN’

A first novel' by. Eve Chaucer, who in private life is Mrs Dennis Wheatley, should claim a good deal of attention from story readers, especially those who have tasted the products of her author husband. But ‘No Ordinary Virgin,’ which introduces Eve Chaucer as a novelist, is, to say the least, disappointing. In style, in theme, and. in fact, in almost every respect, her first book differs vastly from those of Mr Wheatley. She treats a story which docs , not’ tend to' strengthen the good morals of perhaps some of the younger readers. It might be that such persons as her heroine do exist, and that their ideas do coincide with those of the young widow .around whom the story revolves, but the fact remains that the world is none the better for being told of her intimate thoughts. In short, this particular widow resolves not to remarry Without first having a “ trial ■ run,” and so she proceeds to gather about her a quartet 'of males, from whom she hopes to choose the most satisfactory ns a husband. The literary ability of the authoress is not questioned, but her selection of a subject for a first novel might have been a happier one. A copy of ‘No Ordinary Virgin ’ has been received from Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd.

• THE LINE RIDERS ’

Stories of ,1 he “I Wild West”, of America liavc a largo following of readers, and these will find to their diking 1 The Line Riders,’ an exciting Westenv story by Christopher Gulley. The hook is unusual in that it combines detective work with the usual cowboy story; There .is an unscrupulous band of cattle rustlers, who think nothing of committing murder in furtherance of their schemes to enrich themselves.’ In ‘ The Line Riders ’ they succeed' in casting snspicion'fnr a killing on an honest voting rancher, against whom things look black, and who has to fly for his life to escape the rough-and-ready justice of the" settlements. The two riders who, after thrilling, adventures and hairbreadth escapes from the rustlers, sheet homo the crime to the proper ouarter and save our'hero, are interesting characters, as quick in, the perception as Sherlock Holmes, and so quick “on the draw ” that none of the had men of the West has a chance with them. There is also a delightful romance in the storv to give an excellent background against a sombre setting. The publishers are Messrs Ward, Lock, and Go. Ltd., London.

‘ THE CROCKED SIGN ’ y

One of the best mystery stories to be published recently is ‘ The Crooked Sign,’ by Ben Bolt. Paddy Brymer, a British agent on leave from Geneva, frustrates a plot, aimed at the kidnapping of Rachel Mendelsohn, a famous German singer, who, on account of her Jewish nationality, is banished from the '.Fatherland. Jacob Mendelsohn, the singer’s father, is a brilliant chemist who refuses to reveal his discoveries to Hitler’s Nazis and-pays the penalty through being taken captive and field as a prisoner in the Soilless of the Skull, an old German castle. Of course, the British agent and his friends eventually get on to the trail of the missing scientist, and, after many exciting adventures, Radiol’s father is rescued. The pleasure to be derived from the book is increased by the modern note struck, and the man-, ncr in which the author introduces international complications. Our copy comes from the publishers, Messrs Ward, Lock and Co.

TROUBLE OVER A DIAMOND

Gregory Menders, a writer ol thrillers is in Cairo iu search of material lor a new hook. While there he and a companion rescue from a gang'of thieves a. man who is endeavouring to escape to London with’- a huge diamond. The visitors agree to help the bearer of the diamond in the course of his travels and the action that ensues is largely taken up witli the series of' exciting incidents that take place during a race across France with the precious stone. 'lho leader of the villainous element persists m bobbing up „t all manner of inconvenient spots, and makes an absorbing running duel of the journey. This is the theme of • Diamond Duel'.' a new novc! from the pen of Mr Sid. G. Hedges. J lie author treats his material crisply and well, and the fact that he lias n flair for interpreting local colour raises his work above the stnndiml ol just another Ihriller.” Messrs Herbert Jenkins arc tl,o publishers