RECENT FICTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21580, 27 February 1932, Page 4

RECENT FICTION

> ** Such Women Are Bare." By I. E. Bally j|W. Collins Sons)., »

“ Eve the Enemy." By Tlckner Edwardes [(Hutchinson). " Consummate Bose." By Laurence Meynell [(Hutchinson).

" The Tangle." By Walter S. Masterton [(Jarrolds). “ Egfrld the Hostage." By Charles Towers [(Jenkins). " The Sealed Envelope.” By Ben Bolt (Ward, Jiock). " Yirantl Beturns." By Sydney Horler [(Hodder and Stoughton). "Biders of Paradise." By Eobcrt J., Horton J(W. Collins Sons).

Such Women are Rare Philip Faber, a financial genius in his (thirty-eighth year, has already made a million and lost it. He is well on the [way to making his second million when ' this story opens, and is ambitious to bring ! his fortune to five millions. Being entirely a self-made man, he is fully aware | that • money will not buy all that he ' wants. He dresses well, lives well, and his beautiful home is full of artistic treaj eures, for the man has natural good taste. IHe realises that the social position to which he aspires is accessible in only one j Way, and that is by marrying an aristo-. I crat. In his usual competent, uncpmantic I manner, he casts his eye about until he ' finds an ideal worthy of his ambition, and then proceeds in no uncertain way to conquer all obstacles. Lady Paula Frayne, however, is a rare type of woman. Coming of the bluest blood in England, she . is not to be tempted by money; and any I attraction Faber might have had for her ■ if he had been born into her world was | Simply pot considered from the first. He | was just an “outsider.” But Faber exercises a great deal of influence in Lady Paula’s life, and it is not until the end of the hook that we discover what fate has in store for them.

Rural England This is a story of rural England, and Mr Edwardes portrays the glories of the open spaces with a masterly touch. Hjs characters are mainly homely people—farmers, a blacksmith, a sawmiller, a lovable ex-serviceman, a pretty country lass, and a woman doctor. The story is a simple tale of the lives of these folk, of their aspirations, their successes, their disappointments, and their emotions. The authop gets his effect not by introducing some sensational event into the story, but by a calm and lucid analysis of the currents and under-currents that sway the lives of his little coterie in their everyday existence. One feels, at the end, that one is parting from a very pleasant circle «f acquaintances. Diverse Characters “ Consummate Rose,” by Lawrence Mcysiell, is remarkable for the_ strength and excellence of its characterisation rather than for the originality of its theme. There is nothing very new or unusually interesting ■in the situation in which Dorothy Trescotte finds herself after her marriage to the first man who had really invaded the quiet backwater that was her tome in the English North Country. Many a woman before her has made the same mistake about the matrimonial problem, and thousands have yet to err in the same way. But what is refreshingly novel, is the expert manner in which Mr Meynell has drawn a strange assortment of types and .characters into the small compass of one story. Collectively or individually they comprise a diverting, and, no doubt, to .many an instructive study. Dorothy and her husband, Cosgrove-Lang-ton, provide the centre of interest, and all the others, Chris Marnier, young Paul. Phyllis, and Bland, come and go in a strikingly systematic and really ingenious fashion, to complicate, still further the astonishing position that arises ‘between husband and wife after five years of marriage. ** The Tangle ** .1 “ The Tangle,” Mr Walter S. MasterJnan’s latest offering, is a novel worthy of more than the casual time-killing interest, Jt has a substantial note of sentimentality in it, and its easy conversational style is {deasantly refreshing. Some of its droleries may linger for- a long time in the minds of its readers. ' ‘Wisecracks ■imply abound throughout its length. It is the tale' of a girl whose adulation for her artist teacher assumes abnormal dimensions after her ■•'schooldays, of a designing and worldly' mother, of an unusual plan for the reuniting of a married eouple. and a skilful- but satisfying unravelling of a very tangled skein. ** England the Hostage . This book may betdescribed as a semihistorical novel of life in Britain in theseventh century. . The . plot is quite convincing. and the details of the story are worked out cleverly* ’••The archaic language used is at times tedious, but the interest is well sustained by the swift action of the story, which culminates in a graphic description of the Battle of Winwaed. The period-was notable for the •access of zeal with which the Church was eeeking to convert the worshippers of Odin to Christianity, and this activity is skilfully portrayed and interwoven with the thread of the story. The romance of Egfrid—hostage to the King of Mercia—and the beautiful Dreda, makes quite a thrilling tale. Thrills and Romance 1 Ben Bolt has given .‘us a “thriller” in •‘The Sealed Envelope,” which, will interest those who like a story which requires no mental effort, in following its thread. Gregory Melcpmbe, when driving alone in his car one" dark night, is thrown ©ut by means of a wire stretched across the road. Coming to himself, he-hears an American voice say that a mistake has been made —“ Linky : ” has not been caught. Later he is struck a second time' and Tendered unconscious. On recovering he ■ees a light and finds a house where he is given a room for the night. In the morning the house is deserted, but Gregory meets with a determined young woman. From this moment he is involved in a desperate struggle for a sealed envelope which contains proof of the perfidy of Horace Westley, an American millionaire and the father of the girl. “ The Sealed Envelope ” is quite a light story, simple in plot, rapid in action, and containing an agreeable romantic element. Enemy of the Nateion , Sydney Horler created a character who «ould not fail to' give readers a thrill when he first introduced Paul Vivanti in “The Mystery of No. 1,” and the adventures of this great scoundrel have been breathlessly followed through “ Vivanti and “The Worst’Man in the World. Now Mr Horler has revived his old friend in “Vivanti Returns,” and all those who have enjoyed the account of his previous misdoings will again have an opportunity of following him on his return to London, determined upon no less an undertaking than the destruction of the British nation. Peter Foyle and Sylvia, his wife, are also to be met once more, the one as blithe and heroic as ever and the other even more charming. Mr Horler works his storv up to a really thrilling climax •which must be read to be appreciated. The “ Great Outdoors ”

Thrillers may come and go, but there sre few readers who do not enjoy a good “Western” story now and again as a rest from the other types of fiction, hew ®f the many writers of romances of the « great outdoors ” can present their matter in a more attractive form than Robert J Horton, whose latest contribution is “Riders of Paradise.” . Mr Horton spent many years doing the hard work of the cowboy, and he knows his West as lie knows his readers. “ Riders of Paradise ” is a story of a hot-blooded young man who looks for trouble but succeeds |e winning through many tight places in fe manner which" must delight everyone. V. V. Li. fTKe Making of Books In spite of the economic crisis (states the Publishers’ Circular and Booksellers Record), 14,688 books were published in Britain during 1931, compared with 15,393 in 1930, a decrease of 705, or 4.58 per cent. The following figures show how the number of books issued during 1931 compare with those issued during the previous year, the totals for 1930 being given first ;—New books, 9907 and 9197; translations, 478 and 389; 977; new editions, 3790 and 4125. Twelve classes of literature increased their share of the total, including literature, fiction, games and sports, and philology. The greatest decreases were in poetry and drama, > religion, Ristory, and biography.