IN THE LIBRARY

Northern Advocate, 21 December 1929, Page 7

IN THE LIBRARY

A BOOK BUYER’S INDEX* A’s tor Adventure, tales Active ami Henty-fnl— You’ll find ‘that tho Christmas supply will be plentiful. 3 is lor boy; the connection comes sp/'cdily — Hand him out A and he’ll swallow it greedily. C i's for Critic, Crabbed, Captious, Cantankerous — Books won't do for him, for they make him most rancorous. D’s for Detective, a hero Dependable — They say the demand for diim’s simply unendable. E is for Essays of .confident Easiness; Elegance here is the model, not breezi-

ness, F is for Fairy Tale, wide in variety. Dealing with ogres and such-like

society. G is for Gift Book) a Christmas mem

orial / That’s usually highly ornate and pie

tonal. - H is Highbrow; few keep a kind look

for him — And care should be taken in buying a

(book for him. I is for Ink and the Itch to be using

It — A dangerous trade, but folk will go on choosing it. J is for “Jacket,” a Jaunty invention To carry the “blurb” and attract the

attention. K is for Kitchen, not much of a book-

ery, Blit I rather like -works which are writ-

ten round cookery, L is for Love; many books ire about

For how could the novelists manage

without it? M is for Murders, Marauders, and

'MysteryTales on the lines of S. Holmes and his history. N is for Novel, some Nice, and some Naughty-ish, And some with the brand of the brow that is haughty-ish. 0 is Octavo, a trade technicality;

It doesn’t mean much to the mere

generality. Pis for Puff or the Publisher’a Packet, (For further Particulars, kindly sec

“Jacket”). Q is for Quarto, another trade label (I must fill this scheme iip as well as I’m able). ; R’s Reminiscence, oft Rich, Ripe, and Risky; Beware, though—some samples arc not frisky.;, 'S is! for'■Scar' an&f for Sentimentality; ' The Novel exploits ’em with great pr°^i^y* T is for Travel and Tales of great dis-

v '; tanees; Excellent Tonic for v humdrum existences. ! \ Uis for Universe. ! Much has been

■writ of it; Books are extant upon, every odd bit

o£it * ’ 'IT.! V is for Verse f and for volumes poet-

■ icai v: (Not like this jingle that's just alphabetical), W serves for Wit, Whimsies, and’Wag-

,gery— I hope itV’good stout stuff, not weak-

kneed > and ataggery, X is for Xmas, when books are pre-

sented: I trust that your choice will be then

complimented. 7 ’’ v. ' Y’s for the Yarn of. the. tear-yielding Yorick, Still road, I believe, from Wisconsin

to Warwick. • Y Z's Zoroaster, whose stylo, may be

, ■ pleasant, , iV But I don’t think he’s quite a best seller at present, \ ‘ LUCK). . “ Manchester Guardian.''

The Duchess of Sermoneta is a great-great niece of the Empress Eugenie, and in her book of memoirs, called “Tilings Past,” she tells of a visit she and her husband paid to the Kaiser’s yacht, Hohcmwilleni. One old

gentleman was late in taking his departure. Finally he came hastening along the, deck: ‘Hurry upj’ said the Emperor, ‘they are just off. ’ And he aimed a kick at the old gentleman behind, nearly precipitating-.him down the companion. This mark of Imperial condescension convulsed his suite,’’ *.* * * l|i a light novel Mr Hugh Kiugsmill tells of a reincarnation (if Shakespeare, the title of the book being “The Return of Willie Shakespeare.’’ The poet not only lives again for a few weeks, hut in. talking to the people hjb meets, he explains much of what he has written in his plays and sets forth his philosophy of l ifo. Finally Mr KiSfesmill- Makes a comedy of Shakespeare’s reappearance when news of it reaches the world at large. * $ if * Mr Rudolf Besier, who collaborated with Mr H. G. Wells in dramatising “Kipps,” has written a play dealing with the love story of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert. Browning.

Mr John Buchan, whoso latest romance, “The Courts of the Morning,” has just been published, is editing a new series of History Text Books. !

A statue has been erected in Berlin of “Shock-Headed Peter,” as a commemoration of the author of the book, who was a doctor in Germany about a century ago.

(BY “THE BOOKMAN.”)

j CLEMENCEAU, ii Olcitieneeau, despite the dcipands made upon iliis time by public affairs, maintained the closest friendship with many of the most brilliant literary i and artistic figures of his time. He was not elected a .member “of tho : French Academy until the War, and !he was not best (pleased, with, the friendly zeal which had made him an Immortal. His tastes were far from being academic, and his friendships were formed among the rebels of his vnuth. They included the Goncourt brother?, with whom he used frequently to dine at Drouant’s Restaurant, where tho Academic Goncourt Still has its regular luncheons. At the banquet given by the most notable men in French literature to Edmond de Qoneourt, it was to 'Clemeneeau that the speech of the evening wnp allotted. It gave him an opportunity of showing how lofty was his idea of .a writer’s task; “The peasant,” he said, “turns the soil, the smith forges the tool, the scientist calculates, and the philosopher dreams; mankind 'battles painfully for life, ambition, riches, or glory. But is the solitary thinker, by his -writing and activity, who determines their fate. It is he who awakens in them the thought-bearing feel-, ings upon which they live and to which they seek to .give social reality. He it is, by his persistent formulae, who spurs them into action, and to the reclrossal by truth and justice. To it is , who charms them with the hone of youth and makes the exhilarating appeal'which lesds them to life., He comforts them, restores them, and, binding their wounds, leads the vanquished of yesterday on to .tomorrow’s victory. Ho opens’ hearts, and, indeed, creates man in his conscience and his will. Tq have been for a day, for an hour, a labourer in such a task, is sufficient glory for a "lifetime.”

LITERARY NOTES; “Ouckoo Oats” is a story by Lafly Benson which Thornton Butterworth is about to publish. i * * ♦' ' An autumn romance >by »Mr Jeffery Farnol is ready with 'Sampson Low, under the title, “Another Day.” * ♦ * * Sir Philip Oibbs has just finished.a' long novel for Hutchinson, who announcc it as “The Hidden City.” ■* ; t A new novel from the .pen of Mr, ' JKnut 'Hamsun, the Norwegian writer/* , is appearing in English as “Chapter the Last. 1 ' ’ ’♦** ♦ ♦ ■ The medical students at the London hospitals arc loudly protesting against the picture given of them fin Warwick Deeping ’s neyr. novel, “Bophr's How. ’’ If the picture of the “rig” is overdrawn they have reason for . protesting.

i ■ , Vejf , y Miss Clotilda 'Craves had made a reputation as 1 k I novelist VefArt she Hvrote ‘ ‘ The Dop Doctor,” under the pseudonym of “Richard .Dohan.” She lias, for some time, been working on a story which she decided ,to call “(Shallow. Sijas, 1 ’ and’’,ThorHton '[ Butterworth publishes. -She is' also a playwright of some ability.

An account.of Earl Beatty's life has been; Written .by Commander Geoffrey Rawsdn, and will be published by Jarrold'- We arc" told that while the author is “avowedly partisan, he ihas, avoided the “slightestunfairness to any of the persons with whom Lord Beatty's name has been joined in certain discussion during the . last ton years.''-, Ho is more concerned with the astonishing romance of' the Admiral’s rise to prominence and to the supreme command of our naval forces. ;■ * !

. According to the “Glasgow Herald,’’ books about members of the British Royal Family have a larger sale in the. United ‘ (States than in Great Britain. * * « • * Mr H. de Vo re Sjiacpoolc,^whoso new novel, “The* Girl. of the Golden Roof,’’ -appeared recently, is going to Noryvay to lecture on seabirds. Mr Stacpoolc has done much to prevent the pollution of the sea by wastevoil from ships, which cause the death of many sea-birds. . ,

Mr A. 10. Fisher, a young musician and painter, has now Witten his first .novel, “To the -Sun ’’ —a story woven round the Jife of .Shakespeare. Mr Fisher, who was born in. New England and spent his childhood on a farm, went to Harvard, and' later studied at the University of Paris.

An important letter from Wagner has been discovered! and • will shortly lie published in ft book on the coin- r * poser, which is said to give the key to his disagreements with his wife, Minna Wagner.

Literary plagiarism is alv/ays • a risky business, says “John o’ London ’s Weekly,” but the risk apparently run by an American author who has just brought out a Life of Napoleon takes one's breath away. According to a New York review, not only sentenced, bltt almost complete chapters' were lifted from Lord Rosebery’s ’“Napoleon; the last Phase.” Even the fine last page, which will never bo forgotten by anyone who has read it, was incorporated without anknowledgement.