RECENT FICTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21734, 27 August 1932, Page 4

RECENT FICTION

"Ballerina." By lady Eleanor Smith (Victor Gollancz). "The Case Is Altered." By William Florae*. (Hogarth Press). " English Comedy.” By John C. Moore (Dent). " Nymph Errant.” By James Laver (Helnemann). , " The Fleldlngs of Startforth." By Catherine I. Dodd Illustrated . (Jarrolds). "Miraculous Bread.” By Vera Wheatley (John Murray). 1 “ The Baggage." By Geoffrey Elllnger (Jenkins). ' " Ever After.” By H. Herman Chilton (Hutchinson). " Untarnished.” By‘Peter Ash (Paul). Lady Eleanor Smith’s iNovel The artistic career and the . loves of Lina Variey, known as Varsovina, are recorded in Lady Eleanor Smith’s “ Ballerina ” with that narrative capability and assured handling of dialogue to be expected from the author of “ Red Wagon.” Born of theatrical folk, Lina is already dancing in the English provinces before she is into her teens. At-14 she has taken her first lover, a juggler, and is touring Europe with him. At Bruges Stanislas Rosing, late of the Imperial Ballet and now a man of property, perceives in the little circus dancer the divine spark. He takes her under, his protection and soon she has passed with honours her audition for. the corps de ballet at Milan* a further period ofc preparation being followed by a Neapolitan debut which establishes the English girl, now accepted as a Russian, as the leading prjjna ballerina on the Continent. ; Follows that long career in which Varsovina holds the world enchanted) by her art. In England, the United States, the South Americas, she is recognised .as supreme. With Rosing’s death she finds it necessary to finance her first love, the ballet, by favours distributed where there is a monetary return, but her undeviating subservience of every human demand to that of the dance is shaken by Guy Ghevis. He is recalled, froin their brief idyll at Fontajnebleu to inherit a peerage, while Varsovina proceeds to greater artistic triumphs, and builds up further her unstable reputation as a cocotte. Twenty years, after she had parted with Chevis his presence in the theatre inspires her to perhaps the greatest performance of her life, but it is her swan song. Soon, clothed in her famous snowbird costume, she is contemplating suicide when Fate anticipates her decision. This is the story, which in its .telling contains sufficient of variety and colour to maintain the reputation of its author as a popular novelist. But since Lady Eleanor Smith is considered one of the young authors who are to be seriously regarded, the discriminating—and particularly the _ devotees of the ballet—will be disappointed in ‘'Ballerina.”- The task of the novelist is to create, not merely to relate, but the figure of -Varsovina is not a creative or interpretative' work. Her life story—excluding its amorous ramifications, where the novelist naturally gives free rein to the imagination—has been told in the biography of the greatest ballerina of this century. Varsovina anticipates by 40- years the accomplishment, of Legnani, the first ballet dancer to perform the 32 fouettes, and is reproved by her maestro: — “Never, never again let me see you perform such tricks, do you hear? Never, never again! Leave acrobatics to others; must I tell you more than a hundred times the same thing . . . will you never understand that a, danseuse of your rare and delicate qualities is far,, far above such vulgar Italian fireworks? ” When 1 the youthful, Anna Pavlova, after watching the famous Italian ballerina .perform the 32 fouettes, to the humiliation of the Russian dancers, successfully essayed the difficult movement, she was approached, according . both to Karsavina in “Theatre Street" and Hyden’s “Pavlova,” by her ballet-master: — ■ • “Leave acrobatics to others, Anna Pavlova," he shouted. “It is positively more than I. can bear. • I heg you never to try again to imitate those who are stronger than you in their muscles. You must realise that daintiness and fragility are your greatest

assets. ... Such similarities both in effect and in actual phrasing between “ Ballerina ” and well-known books on the ballet suggest only one thing—that the author has taken up her subject without any particular knowledge or research. When we find that Varsovina slapped the face of a partner in public as Pavlova did; that, like Pavlova, she danced in a bull ring; that neither Varsovina nor Pavlova would wear the ordinary practice dress of the ballerina; that both were very kind on occasion to their ballet girls; but made them travel third class; that neither was perturbed in hot dimes which prostrated the rest of the company; and' so on interminably, we are forced to conclude that “Ballerina” is hut a thin, fictitious shadow of the life of a great dancer —not even her portrait since Lady Eleanor Smith's heroine has, no individuality' apart from her model, save only in promiscuous amourettes.

The Author « ' Lady Eleanor Smith, who was born in 1902, is the eldest child of the first Earl Birkenhead. Her. first essay in authorship was at the age of five, when she commenced a tragedy in : five acts, entitled “ The Wilful Curate.” i Her first novel, “Red Wagon,” was written when she was 24, and had a success not far short of that enjoyed by “The Good Companions.” This was a circus tale, and “ Flamenco,” her second novel; concerned the gipsy race. *

■“ The Case Is Altered " “ Ballerina ” is a romantic and pleasant book', whereas “ The ' Case Is Altered,” which on the artistic and technical counts alone is a much finer piece of fiction, is- realistic and extremely unpleasant. Such a statement is not criticism, and may provoke the cry of “ Philistine,” but it seems to be justified when one considers that the Book Society selected ; “ The Case Is Altered ” as its choice for English novel readers in July It is much to he doubted whether five hundred of the Book Society’s ten thousand or so subscribers will enjoy their July fare, for it is not in the nature of the . ordinary man or woman to dissociate art from the effect it has on the mental digestion, and “The Case, Is Altered ” is a most indigestible piece of reality. It is the story of a London boarding house started by; a young Jewess and her husband, a jealous invalid, and of the people who take rooms in it and, for better or worse, cannot remain aloof from the sinister atmosphere which is created. Mr Plomer describes his types- with clear, detached precision—the romantic shop, assistant, the lady in reduced the deadly dull married couple, the widow with spiritualist leanings, and, above all, Mrs Fernandez herself, at once attracted by her crazed husband’s love for her, and terrified by his growing insanity. It is enough, having paid fair tribute to Mr Plomer’s skill in character drawing, and in creating the tense effect that is necessary to the dramatic unfolding of his study, to. add that in the final pages_ he describes a murder which is shocking, sordid, and revolting, and describes it almost with cruel relish. Unlike the Book Society, we would not. for all_ the good work in this book, recommend it to anybody who reads novels as a pleasant relaxation or mental stimulant. “ English Comedy ”

Having made no attempt to conceal our repugnance for the butcher shop entertainment provided by Mr Plomer, we need not apologise for expressing delight in John C. Moore’s , English pastoral, v'as jolly and harmless a book as the lover of the English countryside could desire. This is a quite loosely-constructed tale of a vague, mildly adventurous journey made by John, a soli citor’s clerk become financially independent. and Jerry, a slightly eccentric young American millionaire. They meet, when both searching for the heart of England, on a country road, and join forces for a vagabond, carefree ramble through the lanes, to the fairs, and into the small, quiet pubs of the land. They work with a caravan troupe of actors, they make friends with a queer person, Robin, who seems indeed to be the shy, furtive soul of the moors, they ride big-chested horses and play shoye ha’penny in secluded inns “Oh Anne,” writes John to the London girl who sent him on this pilgrimage, “ I never knew that England was like this’ So comic that it makes you laugh, and so beautiful it almost makes you cry.” Mr Moore has caught both at the comedy and the beauty of England in his “ English Comedy.” and he passes his gleanings to his readers.

The Inconstant Nymph Or again, for the light-hearted and uninhibited, we might select James-Laver’s “.Nymph Errant,” a clever, outspoken commentary upon all forms of modern re*

creation and aspiration and the part that females take in them, from Lido bathing to Nachtkultur. The nymph, Evangeline, was sent by Aunt Ermyntrudc, who lived at Oxford, to a “ finishing ” school at Lausanne, where she herself had been finished so well that she “ never desired to add anything to a finality so complete.” But Evangeline's education began where her aunt’s had left off, for on the Paris train she met a handsome Frenchman, who persuaded her to visit Deauville; and there she encountered an artist whom she accompanied to Montparnasse; whence it was no distance to the woods of Himmelheim, where earnest, plump Germans braved the elements in undress; and thence to an Austrian castle owned by a decadent aristocrat, Evangeline wandered, to return to Oxford a year later than she had expected, having also on the way been sold in an Eastern slave market and rescued from the harem by a young American diplomat.. But all Aunt Ermyntrudc said was, “Aren’t you a little late? " to which Evangeline replied that she had stopped to ' buy tea cakes. “ Nymph Errant ” is not everyone’s book, but it is certainly well w-ritten and amusing. ,' Seventeenth Century England

“The Fieldings of Startforth ” is, Miss Dodd explains, a story of her ■ ancestor, William Fielding, whom she has studied with “ the diligence of filial love.” It is ho uneventful life of which she writes in this pleasantly-niannered work. Fielding quits hig “studdys " at Cambridge to fight for his king; he meets his: cousin Susanna, whom he ultimately marries, at the home of the first Earl of Denbigh; .he comes into tragic contact with a London smitten by the plague, meets kings, queens, physicians, papists, alchemists, witch-women —in fact, his story has for its drop scene the whole tapestry of seventeenth century England. Miqs Dodd knows and loves her period, the family history on which the romance is based does not intrude, and the book is illustrated with attractive drawings from interesting sources. A Tripartite Study

“ Miraculous Brea’d ” is the story of the lives and loves, of the three children of Enid Milton, a neurotic woman who imposes an iron rule by playing upon her physical frailness. First, there is Frances', who has a strong leaning towards promiscuity, and is saved from its consequences only by chance; then there is Diana, who reaches a sex impasse and a crisis in her home life after having been married for seven years and borne two children; thirdly, comes Richard, a delicate, poetic young man who is either weak mentally or, judging from the Japanese viewpoint, a hero. Mrs Wheatley portrays these three separately, yet the life of each has an important bearing on the lives of the others, while another welding influence is that of their spinster aunt. Georgie, an - authoress with a shrewd and whimsical attitude to life. The composite whole forms a decidedly unusual story. ‘ ■ ,

According to Formula There is a certain type of light comedy which is greatly favoured by the House of Jenkins, and is indulged in by many of their novelists in the' intervals' between writing “ thrillers ” The formula for this form of “farce” is standardised. There is a young man Hving alone and about to be visited by'his fiance and her fearsome mother or aunt. Prior to their arrival—as a rule on the night preceding it—a beautiful girl, usually inadequately clad, descends from nowhere, and he'has the greatest difficulty in disposing of her and in convincing his affianced and her angry and suspicious companion that the situation, though “compromising,” is morally impeccable. In Baggage” Mr .Ellinger .treats of this slight theme agreeably.

" Ever After ” Honoria Vane, orphaned by the death of her father when she was.juSt of age, marries Alan Chateris, a rising young barrister. For a time they . are very happy, but, unknown to Honoria, Alan is indulging in many extravagances. By wild speculation to cover his losses, he becomes involved in criminal proceedings. Her faith shattered, Honoria goes into seclusion, but poverty and want prove too much for her, and she is rescued from her unhappy position by her husband’s best friend, Stephen Drew. _ Shortly afterward, Alan escapes from prison, and a "dramatic scene follows when he arrives at Drew’s house and accuses Honoria of unfaithfulness. The climax ; comes with the arrival of the sheriff, whose advent makes the way clear for a hapjw ending.

"Untarnished’* Mr Ash has set himself , a rather interesting problem in this book. He marries an aristocratic realist to a plebeian idealist, leaves them to become better acquainted for eight years, and then introduces a modern “ flapper ” into their household, The position abounds' in possibilities, but Mr Ash confines himself to’ the romantic aspect, arid very skilfully analyses the emotions of the realist as she is gradually transformed from an unconscious egotist to a warm-hearted. and gracious woman and a real companion for her husband. In the general distribution of happiness at the end the “flapper,” too, receives her fill! share. Norman Lindsay’s Cartoons

Mr Norman Lindsay, the Australian artist and author, and an illustrator of the works of Rabelais, who recently ■ returned to Sydney from a visit to England and the United States, hag rejoined the staff of the Bulletin, in .which paper his cartoons will appear regularly. Tt is many years since Mr Lindsay contributed any cartoons to the Bulletin, though he has occasionally illustrated stories appearing in this paper. Daphne du Maurier Miss Daphne du Maurier, the 24-ycar-old daughter of Sir Gerald du Maurier, the actor-manager,, will marry shortly Major F. A. M. Browning, of the Grenadier Guards. Miss du Maurier made up her mind some years ago that her father’s profession of the stage had no attractions for her (says the Daily Mail). Instead, she devoted herself to writing, thus following in. the footsteps of her grandfather, the late George du Maurier, author of “Trilby” and “Peter Ibbetson,” Her first fulldength novel. “ The Loving Spirit,” published in 1930,, was of so ambitious a nature that it required a family tree, chart as a frontispiece._ She has done most of her writing in Lady du Manner's ', house at Fowey,’; Cornwall. When she is not engaged in wrjting she fishes and sails or wanders over the countryside in a seaman’s jersey and a pair of flannel trousers. Major Browning, who is 35, served in the Great. War and was awarded the D.S.O. in 1918.

” David Hume ” Mr J. Y. T. Greig, the author of “ David Hume.” has’been awarded the, James Tait Black Memorial Prize for the best bio-, graphy published during the year.. The prize is awarded annually by the professor of English literature and rhetoric in the University of Glasgow.!

Books on Bull-fighting Those who read Mr Ernest Hemingway’s “ Fiesta ” will remember the author’s vivid descriptions of a Spanish bull fight. A- new book is promised by Mr Hemingway for the English autumn, which will also deal with bull fighting. Another authority on the subject is the present Spanish Ambassador in London. Some of his bull-fighting'studies are now being translated and will shortly appear.