BOOKS AND WRITERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19412, 21 August 1926, Page 7 (Supplement)

BOOKS AND WRITERS.

Michael Terry, who described in " Across Unknown Australia," an adventurous journey in a " tin lizzie" through the Northern Territory, has returned to London from a second expedition, and is engaged in compiling his experiences in book form. Tho book will be published nest January, and tho illustrations which aro to be a prominent feature, will cover thirty pages. ***** Readers of " Punch" will have noticed tho delightfully humorous "She Shanties," by tho versatilo A. P. Herbert. The collected verses will shortly be issued by Fisher Unwin in tirno to make a most acceptable Christmas gift. Mr. Brimley Johnson, whose editions of eightoenth-century letters aro so well known, has now made a selection from tho " Letters of Lady Louisa Stuart," to bo published by tho Bodley Head. Lady Louisa was a daughter of a Prime Minister, Lord Bute, and grand-daughter of tho famous Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, much of whoso vigorous originality she inherited. * * * * A new edition of tho works of "Saki," (11. H. Munro), is being published by John Lane. Each volume will have an introduction by a well-known writer,

after the stylo of the Leonard Merrick edition issued by Hodder and Stoughton, « Maurice Barny introduces " The Unbearable Bassington," while A. A. Milno performs a like otTico for " The Chronicles of jCloris."

" There is news indeed for Filmland, Flatland, Blunderland, and all the other kingdoms of the topsy-turvy." This is how a London paper heralds the announcement of " Further Nonsense Verse," by Lowis Carroll, edited by Langford Reed, the authority on Limericks, and illustrated by H. M. Bateman. V * * * •* *• Tho publication of a new edition of Louis Becko's first story " By Reef and Palm," recalls to Mr. Fisher Unwin's memory how tho book which he published in September, 1894, was introduced to him by Lord Pembroke. Recently Mr, Unwin in looking through his correspondence with Joseph Conrad, came across the following passage: "I am sorry to miss making the acquaintance of Mr. Becke. Strangely enough I have been, only the other day, reading again ins ' Reef and Palm.' Apart from tho great interest of tho stories what I admiro most is his perfect unselfishness in the telling, of them—tho sacrifice of his individuality in the interest of the work. B'o stands magnificently aloof from the poignancy and humour of his stories; a thing- I could never do and which I envy him." ***** In " Some Dickens Women,": (Laurie) Edwin Charles' Has chosen tho jnore important female characters in Dickens, and /told their story as far as possible in tho. master's own words, bridging gaps with brief lucid explanations. In spite of the enormous quantity of Dickens literature, this particular field has remained untouched till now and all good Dickensians wilt*'be'anxious for a copy. **' * * » tripper to Troiskydom" is likely to sea much of tho side of the Bolshevik regima.i.described by an escaped prisoner, B. A. Malsagoff, in "An Island Hell: A Soviet prison in the Far North." An island in the Whito Sea has been turned into a penitentiary for victims of the Tcheka. Here political and criminal offenders are herded without any attempt lit classification. The awful climate accentuates the horrors of the place. Summer lasts two months and for the rest of the year there are frequent gales, snowstorms,.and biting north-easterly winds. '** * * * The prison hospital is in charge of a highly-trained woman doctor, who served with tho Red Cross on every front during tho war. She afterwards became a secret Agent, and for talking too iricHscroetly, was transferred to this island prison. " No ono in the Solovky, even the most disreputable criminal, curses with such complete mastery of, the art as the directress of the hospital. Criminals often go to the hospital just to hoar her swear, and introduce her latest gems of obseuity into their pwn talk. J . . She accelerates the patient's death by her roughness, her complete indifference to their sufferings, tho cruelty of ,-i person on tho verge of insanity." 1 f - *; * * '•* . . • * Aften reading such an account, too well corroborated not to bo taken as a true picture, one shudders to think there can be any answers but one to Nornian Angell's " Must Britain travel to MoscowRoad ?" Mr. Angell notices in Trotsky tin " innate militarism and imperialism," utterly opposed to communism as under- j stood by idealist fanatics in England. j