RECENT FICTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21976, 10 June 1933, Page 4

RECENT FICTION

" Mrs Barry.” By Frederick Xiven. (Collins.) " Immortal Memory;” By Christine Orr. (Hodder and Stoughton.) . " That Subtile Knot.” By S. L. Bothell. (Jenkins.) _ ... " Three Maids of Islington.” By Edith Brill. (Wright and Brown.) „ . " wings In the Dust.” By Netta Muskelt. (Hutchinson.) „ _ ~„h nTlv " Behind Park Gates. By L. G. Mobcrly. (Ward, Lock.) , T ,.i.„ " The Many-Coloured Thread. By Lui.e Allan. (Jenkins.) , . The .Motor Bally Mystery. By John Rhode. (Crime-Club—Collins.) "Spies are Abroad.” By J. M. Matsu. (C "Ono *of Those Ways” and "The Story of Ivy.” By Mrs Belloc Lowndes. (Eyre and Spottiswoode; each 2s Cd net.) . . (Each 7s net, unless otherwise stated.) Mr Niven’s Scottish Studies

Mr Niven’s unassuming art receives a suitable medium for its authentic expression in his new novel of Scottish cha - actcr, “Mrs Barry.” He is a writer who never forces a point for the best of all possible reasons—he has no need to. in his study of Mrs Barry, the Scottish widow who has “ come down in the world, but neither repines nor advertises the fact, his method is objective. He describes her tenement flat in Glasgow, her lodgers, and the mental and physical growth of her interesting son, Neil, with the detached yet human understanding that conies from perfect sympathy with the lives of such people. Mrs Barry is forced to leave her loved Ayrshire country home when her husband dies aft a financial failure. Her chief anx, ® t [> although the reversal of her fortunes is almost cataclysmic, is m providing that Neil shall receive his opportunities. Any sense of personal. misfortune m, to to speak, sublimated in her devotion to the boy, and there is not a reader who will fail to be thankful that he justifies hei hopes. Neil is, it might.be protested almost too closely related in actuality to S ideal son of a mother’s imag—, but Mr Niven makes him quite rredßi e and his main purpose is in filling out with his deft touches the portrayal of the mother. The other mam. characters in the novel, the ship's engineer and _ tnn young Siamese who are Mrs Barry s lodgers are presented with skill, and the surgeon who plays a part in the story shown with equal clarity. Mr Niven is one of the best of contemporary novelists, and tins might fairly be described as among his best Scottish studies.

“ Immortal Memory A Scottish novel of a different type is Christine Orr’s “ Immortal Memory, a novel which eschews with somewhat savace wit the pretensions of the Kailyard. It is set in Edinburgh, where, one is rather surprised to discover, there exists a literary “set’ “S and complacent as any that exists in London. Its most vigorous mmber is Mairi, who has embraced Scottish Nationalism, has had visions of a par liamentary career, and is Quite prepared to condescend to literature if it enables her to express her own determination to become a dominant figure. On the outer fringe hovers Lawrence Lothian, a young man A some facility in authorship and, among his other less desirable traits, an affection for strong liquor- It• « Lawrence who precipitates the Scottish literary renaissance when, in an old d he has purchased, he discovers some yellow manuscripts of exceptional quality. jssrWSS'® *il" evftable "Sommitteewoman." who is enrolled because her name is on every annual report, is set up. Ogilviee house is pro cured as a shrine, and Lothian is ap pointed official biographer. It is due to his researches and assumptions that Ogilvie is credited with a romantic liaison which serves as a good selling!_ P““ t - Then confusion comes, in the form oi a reckless red-headed wanderer who claims to f the fruit of this episode. He is not averse to blackmail, terronsation, or any other form of villainy, and the committee is .faced with a task re s2 in ”f s utmost discretion and tact. Ihe resom tion of their difficulties must be left to the author to divulge.. Co * ncld , ent Y 1 } 1 ' this literary- sensation is related a sto y St “romance, which, have . tion with it, and it is in her presents, tion of this that Christine Orr reveals tlio softer qualities in her wMng. Im mortal Memory’’ is a clever and unusual novel a trifle over-populated, pernaps, St -revealing the mind of'an astute writer.

Mixed Matrimony In describing “That Subtile &o a. "a story of nxamed^ life the publish are revealing only half its mpor . A storv of unmarried life would be just appropriate a title, for there are as many Regular as orthodox partnerships in it. The two main branches to the story. One of them leads Bernard Howell, who refused to accept the iHidt rektionship in which hia sister was involved owing to her failure to obtain a divorce, into accepting a similar disposition of his own domestic problems. The other shows the breaking down of the prejudices of. his niece Ann, who first is an ardent advo cate of “ free love,” but finally is persuaded that A old-fash oned mamag has much to commend it.' The autiior of this novel is sincere, and one does not doubt he has something he wishes to sav but when all is said and done his exposition leads nowhere, unless is proves that conduct must be governed oy circumstances and should not be lodged i the absence of knowledge of particular cases.

Three Girls There are no pretentions about Edith Brill’s “Three Maids of Islington, and that is the worst and the best that can be said concerning a pleasant.book. The three girls, Gwen and Mane Mardell, and their friend Lorna, are all attractive all poor, and all deserving of happiness They work hard, they play gaily and sensibly, and their adventures are such as might occur to any modern, independent young ladies in London or elsewhere. The author describes their romances and their ingenuity in dressing well on little money, with equal knowledge and sympathy. Those who will enjoy this book most are the working girls .who can recognise something of themselves in Gwen, Marie, and Lorna.

“ Wings In the Dust Della Harlow is a very different, type of modern young woman, whose' ambitions are not idle dreams but demands to be gratified. When she inherits money she takes a flat and a lover in London, and proceeds to regulate her life on irregular lines. She is living with an artist, Michael, as his wife, when they are injured in a motor accident. Michael loses his sight and Della -marries him, though she is soon impatient of her life with an invalid. When Michael obtains a secretary, Janet Wise, to assist him with a novel, Della takes advantage of Janet’s affection and returns to her previous way of living. This involves her in a tragedy, but spells happiness for Michael and Janet.

Invisible Barriers In Mrs Moberley’s “Behind Park Gates” we return to more wholesome characters, principally Joy, who, fresh from Australia, is fitted by temperament to savour keenly , experience of a different way of life. But Joy does not find the warped traditionalism to which her grandmother, Mrs Fortescue, is attracted by birth and custom, congenial. It is in making the elderly ladv realise that democracy is a possible state, if one fraternises with decent, interesting’ people, that she achieves one of her ardent purposes. The other, which is more romantic, is likewise fulfilled. There should be a good audience' for this engaging tale.

An Unconvincing Hero Hallowell Ridont, a journalist who feels cramped and capable of higher things than the very ordinary assignments which come his way, feels that his ego has been released from prison when he becomes a beneficiary tinder a will. Rushing away to Millie, hie fiancee, he induces her to fly with him to Majorca, leaving their alliance unlegalised in order to gratify

his sense of the romantic. Here he dreams wonderful dreams of what he will write ag soon as the spirit moves him. Unfortunately, however, performance lags far behind promise, and the story develops into a dreary recital of things left undone. Ridout is an unsatisfactory hero, morally and mentally unstable, and although the publishers of this book, “ The Many-Coloured Thread,” recommend it to the woman reader, presumably in order that she may sympathise with the blind devotion of Millie, it is more likely that the average woman will long to shake her

“ The Motor Rally Mystery ” The rules and conditions that govern the holding of an English 1000-mile motor rally are cleverly utilised by Mr John Rhode in his latest addition to detective fiction. The contest is one of speed and endurance, and is in no sense a race, except in so far as there is a stated time for all contestants to complete the course. An accident that involves the death of two of the competitors attracts the attention of Dr Priestley, who from slender and nebulous clues constructs a case that changes a eoronial verdict of death from misadventure into one of murder. The manner of the crime and its perpetration is revealed in a series of logical steps that culminates in a stern chase through the night. “ Spies Are Abroad ’’ Wandering aimlessly around Aden in order,to kill time while the ship which is taking him home is undergoing minor repairs, Colonel Ormiston. of the Secret Service, is surprised on beinjr addressed by name by a mysterious veiled woman. Obeying her instruction to follow her, he is led by tortuous alleys to where Raven, one of the most trusted of the Secret Service agents, is in hiding. While giving Ormiston an important communication Raven is murdered, and Ormiston finds himself pitted against the redoubtable Yisma (the Hearer), who has threatened to disrupt the entire commerce of Britain and America unless his demands for money are met. Yisma .proves most elusive, and in describing the events before he is finally unmasked Mr J. M. Walsh excels, if anything, the thrills he provided in “ Lady Incognito. London Mysteries Messrs Eyre and Spottiswoode have inaugurated a new senes, the “ London Mystery Stories,”, with two full-length novels by that experienced writer, Mrs Belloc Lowndes. The books are produced in a manner that belies their small COSt - • Y.V.L.