THE BOOKSHELF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20088, 27 October 1928, Page 9 (Supplement)

THE BOOKSHELF.

! ESSAYS BY E. Y. LUCAS. • «<A ROVER I WOULD BE." i There are times when one has one's < doubts of Mr. Lucas. lie is so very ; adroit at making anthologies, collections of ono sort or another, with titles which fairly draw tho money out of your pockets, in all of which someono else lias dono tho wock, " and Mr, Lucas, presumably, takes the » profits, that cue wonders whether so 5 capable a business man can be a good ; artist. Then there comes along a book « which ho has written himself, and ono is 1 captured all over again. Never too boisterJ ons or too clever or too funny, there is ■ no ona who writes so pleasant an essay, > and, above all elso, an essay must bo 2 pleasant. Ho never tells us anything wo I did not already know, and that is a part ;of his charm, 110 relies on pleasantly 1' stirring our memory of well-loved things. J Who but Mr. Lucas could persuado us • that country fairs arc such jolly places? • Who could make our relationships with I fish seems so interesting? lie makes l capital out of most unpromising material. J ITe goes to see some performing croco- ' diles, which merely go to sleep in a tank. I Does lie go round io (he box office to J storm for tho return of his shilling? Nn; < lie goes homo and writes a most lively land amusing essay, and doubtless tho thread which ho had cast on tho waters j returns to him a hundredfold. Never 'delving too deeply, yet always giving some ? food for lingering thought lie prattles of „ sweep tickets, has a gentle dig at doc- ; tors, plays a dastardly trick on flatterers > who do not. read presentation copies, est ta-blishes a nodding acquaintanco with

; early Romans, and early smokers, and goes ■ ariding on wheels. Wherever his fancy «leads him, ho is most gracefully and ! charmingly at homo. ; It has been said deprecntinglv of Mr. "Lucas that ho is very gentle. Of course he is—he's an essayist. The function of ;an essayist is not to set tho Thames on 'fire, or to curdle tho blood, or to make « the sides ache: not even to bear a flaming ! torch. He " should set out to prove Jrothing. hut may illuminate everything." •He should gently stimulate or discursively ! interest us in our moments of relaxation. [Because there is no imaginable subject 'which Mr. Lucas cannot pleasantly il- '. lumine ho stands securely among tho leading essayists of tho day. '< "A Hover I Would Be," bv E. V. Lucas • CMethuon).

" ROOFS OFF."

:'v 'A VILLAGE COMMUNITY. £ _We are often instructed concerning the 'Tight book for the right occasion. The Jdetective storv for tho train journey, Something. philosophical for the bedside. 3lero is just tho book for tho week-end '■holiday, when all that is amusing, yet with just that underlying touch of seriousness, is demanded. " Roofs Off," b.v ftichmal Crompton, reminds us very much of " Down Our Street," by J. E. Buckrroso. The idea of tho book is similar, Ithough it approaches it from a different janglo, and for all its seeming simplicity •it is an idea, most difficult to carry out. Crompton succeeds most gracefully. Sho chooses the small English village of Mailings for her background, -wherein tho estate belonging to the !Jlanor House, has been subdivided and "sold. Houses have sprung up and so ■ihere is formed a small community that .lias no connection with the village. To "iono oi theso house 3 comes a new tenant, Eversham. > Martin is a widower. , He is looked JCtpon as "eligible" by tho neighbourhood, 4vhich is to draw him into its circle. Through M.. :, in, wo qet in touch with .'inany of the neighbouring families. What ■jnake3 the book so attractive is that all its characters are peoplo wo ourselves ■might have for neighbours. All tho little '.happenings very often lie within our 2(>wn experience. It takes moro than or■dinary skill and humour to make such [seemingly mundane things interesting, but "Miss Crompton has that skill, and invests 'her storv with a charm and naturalness •that holds onG to tho last page, T. " Rncffl Off," by Richmal Crompton .jHodclcr and Stoushton). TALE OF ADVENTURE. £ DAYS OF EARLY GEORGES. Most men, and not a few women, no matter what their literary tastes, enjoy an occasional excursion into tho realm of heroics, by savouring a good oldfashioned yarn, wherein tho hero puts his enemies to rout, achieves great, deeds, jnnd is tho admired of all admirers. I'or "various reasons, but chiefly to maintain ihn air of credibility, the scene of such !i storv is best laid in tho past. Iho .difficulty is to find such a yarn even passably well written. Authors arc apt to choke tho interest by a surfeit of irchaic talk arid uncouth sentiment, which to longer rings true, and probably never tlid.

I Sir Edward Parry has avoided this mistake in " Berrington," and has given lis a rousing storv of the days of the parlv Georges. In a delightful introduction, he resorts to tho good old-fash-ioned device of linking the hero up wj'li ftu authentic historic personage. Nie. Sherrington, a fascinating scamp, left orphan at an early age, is adopted bv the famous prince of robbers, Jonathan Wild. Brought up in tho mileau of pickpockets, smugglers, and gentlemen of the road, his life becomes a series of adventures, which finally lead him to London, in an endeavour to recover his ancestral estates. Arrived there, his reckless and audacious personality takes him into the company of actors, courtiers, even J'oyalty itself. Inevitably also it leads him into extravagance arid a debtor's prison, whence he escapes to his first love and a new life in tho recently£pencd colony of Georgia. * For the pleasure of tho more serious leader, a careful attempt has been made fo reconstruct the customs and social conditions of the period. Thcro are fine tales •if smuggling, cock-fighting, coursing, and iivid accounts of a debtor's sponginghotifie, fashionable. London, and a religious street, riot. " lierrington" can be recommended as a lair* of adventure far above the average, which docs not strain our sense of the credible beyond breaking point, - " Berrinston," by Kir Edward Parry tlJeinnmarin). ' "THE FLUTES 07 SHANGHAI." ; 'A CHINESE SETTING. - Louise .lonian Miln has written some half-dozen or more novels, all with a Chinese background. Sho spares no pains to reproduce the atmosphere of tho country, and to indicate the culture anil charm o.f the educated Chinese, Her popularity is well merited. In " The Flutes of Shanghai," Mrs. Mitn's latest, novel, she tells a great deal about Chinese life, customs, houses and gardens, which is always interesting to tho Western mind. She is not, however, • v '> successful with her English characters. r lhcy are a littlo stereotyped—the hero ftt all costs strong and silent, the heroine cut to a noblo pattern. Nevertheless " The Flutes of Shanghai" will please Mrs. Miln's public no less than iier earlier books, while her knowledge rtfid understanding of tilings Chinese will interest, even the most discriminating reader. _'* Tho Flutes of Shanghai." by Louise Jordan Aliln (Hodder and Stoacntoa).