THE BOOKSHELF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21076, 9 January 1932, Page 8 (Supplement)

THE BOOKSHELF.

SIMULTANEOUS SCENES. PLAY OF ELIZABETH. 'A play in which there are two stages, tno above the other, on one of which Queen Elizabeth is seen temporising with her Court, while at the same time on the other Philip of Spain is urging his nobles ' ' () n to war, should satisfy the taste for ■' nervation of the most modern audience. ' « Elizabeth of England " is written by a German, Ferdinand Bruckner. The early gcenes show Elizabeth vacillating, blowv ing hot, blowing cold, bestowing favours on Essex", withdrawing them in a huff, flouting her Ministers, doing anything rather than commit herself to any definite action, while Bacon, a man of craft 2 born before his time, is advancing himself like a skilled chessplayer among his pawns and pieces. V Tho object of the simultaneous action ©n the two stages is to throw into greater relief the 'vainglory of nations striving for ignoble ends under high sounding soubriquets. The Courts of Spain and England are shown side by sido praying to God for victory, not for the sake of prido < or dominion or ambition, but to the glory of God and the good of mankind. The • irony of the situation is brought out with telling <?ffcct. This is a powerful play in a highly successful attempt is made to interpret the complex characters of the Queen and Sir Francis Bacon. The diffi- \ culties of presentation .unfortunately will debar- it "from the local stage. "Elizabeth-of 'England," by Ferdinand Bruckner. English version by Ashley Dukes. (Benn.) J - ; LOST ILLUSIONS. STORY OF A NOVELIST. In ' r So Lovers Dream " Mr. Alee TVaugb tells the story of the successful novelist as .a young man. This should be ;■> familiar country to Mr. Waugh. As a schoolboy prodigy he burst into the literary world with " The Loom of Youth " and he has since moro or less enjoyed the _ fruits of success. "So Lovers Dream is ' J is "a story of disillusionment. Mr. Waugh refuses to grow up, with the result that his public.begin to doubt him. Is he to be yet another of those authors who have Dover fulfilled their brilliant promise ? His - books .are always readable, and entertaining, yet so far . they consistently lack maturity! He has the light modern touchand invariably strikes an--intimate and personal note which is irresistible. His own generation delight in him and applaud his almost feminine astuteness, but the more- experienced readers find him lacking. His airy manner counts for little iwith them. _ , •- Examined with detachment the characters are vague. Very _ beautiful, very sophisticated, but lacking in reality, even -as are the illustrations of a popular American magazine. In his latest book Mr. Waugh presents a popular and affluent novelist who dallies with love and meets ~lubis match in the form of a youug Americart matron. This rather shadowy heroine moves against an expensive and sophisticated background. She is scarcely less casual than the supposedly adoring young - novelist, but his expectations are some- ~ what dashed when she shows no intention of remaining with him permanently. At r~ least he thought, he was serious and on this noto the story ends. Not a very satisfactory note for the reader, who is inclined to blame Mr. Waugh. "So Lovers Dream;" by Alec Waugh., (Cassell.) ... PICTURES FROM SPAIN. t KAREL CAPEK'S IMPRESSIONS. Karel'Capek, the Czech dramatist, whose * Letters from England" was described by Punch' as " the best book about our race since the Germania of Tacitus, has now-written a similar book about Spain. The style is light and interesting. The writer makes no attempt to give an authoritative survey of Spain. He is frankly a sightseer, though an unusually observant and well-informed one, and gives an account of the things to see in Spain and his opinion of them. He is most attracted by things peculiarly Spanish—its people, customs, buildings, paintings. He intersperses the narrative with- little sketches, most of which are as brilliant and enigmatic as his writing. Many travellers will appreciate only too well the point of his sketches of a man trying to get into the top bunk-of a railway sleeping carriage. Writers 'often visit England without describing a cricket match, but none go to Spain without describing a bull fight. Mr. Kapek's is unduly detailed, hut interesting because he seems to regard bull-fighting with rather less repulsion than an Englishman, or else is imbued with a determination tp state only facts and leave opinions to the reader. His admirable sketches make the bull a magnificent fighting animal. He discourses amiably of Spanish towns, gardens, patios, mantilla*, wines, dances, guitars, and has written a sympathetic- and attractive book. " Letters from Spain," by Karel Capek. . (Geoffre!r Bles.) MR. CHESTERTON'S FLAIL. STIMULATING ESSAYS. " All is Grist" is an excellent title for a took of essays. It might almost bo accepted as an essayist's motto. Under its rover Mr. G. K. Chesterton, with the wind sweeping through his mind as fresh and vigorous as ever, proceeds to turn innumerable things inside out and to hold them' up to ridicule. Ideas follow '! each other, in teeming profusion. His agile mind is brought to bear on one side of a question; his pierc-ing logic sets it straight; but the main issue remains untouched. An essayist should ever bear a pipe of,, peace; Mr. Chesterton carries a make-believe flail. For in spite of his vigour, ill spite of his indignation, he never seems ,to be in earnest, he nover speaks from a deep-rooted conviction. He delights more in his dexterity in proving black'white than in the truth of tho thing lie proves or disproves. Nevertheless he is very stimulating and entertaining, and can look facts straight ill tho eve. " We'll have no more nonsense," ho seems to say, rolls up his sleeves, squares hig elbo,ws. and makes the words fly from his pen. Ho makes the nudists glad of a few rags to eovor them. " All ]b- Griat," by S. K. Chesterton. (Methuen.)