REGENT FICTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23442, 5 March 1938, Page 4

REGENT FICTION

"The Bending Sickle." By Gerald Bullett (Dent). "Enchanted Nightshade." By Ann Bridge (Chatto and Windus). "Golden Fleece." By Bertita Harding (Harrap). . „'. _ , "Chinese River." By J. Van Dyke "Punch and Judy." By Phyllis Austin (Melrose). „,„ ~. "Sky-Rocket." By Mary Fitt (Ivor Nicholson). . ... ' • "The Little Victims Play." By Anne Hocking (Bles). "Lamppost 592." By Stephen Maddock (Collins). ••,.,■•«, „ »„ " Fandango." By Rachel Swete Macnamara (Hurst and Blackett). 4s 6d! (Each 7s 6d, unless otherwise stated.)

Mr Bullett Finds Hi:; Billet Mr Bullett first attracted attention with "The Baker's Cart," a work of fancy somewhat in the De La Mare manner.' " The Bending Sickle ' is, a novel which is fanciful Qnly in its construction. Mr Bullett adopts the "Dear Brutus" method of coming full circle. We begin with a publisher seeking out the writer of "Cynthia Carstairs," a piece of Victorian novelettism which the publisher proposes to reissue in a limited edition as a stunt, one might almost say a lark. He seeks out the home of the writer, expecting to find a faded lady with an equally faded Tennysonian nimbus about her. He finds Lallage Herriod. At the end - of the book we return to the publisher; but in the intervening pages we are treated to a Miranda-like plunge into the dark backward and abysm of time. Mr Bullett subjects us to the shock of more than one hiatus, with the result that certain characters appear on the scene for which we find it somewhat difficult to supply a genealogy. Lallage is there, however, and she is a sufficient justification for the book. We find her at first, like the writer of

"Beside the Bonny Briar Bush,' inditing "Cynthia Carstairs" in the sanctuary of her little room. We find her precipitated into an unfortunate marriage with a horsey gentleman of whom she is ultimately quit through the good offices of a stallion which, in the process of neighing after a blood mare, contrives to kill his rider. Next we see her engaged in the joint management of an hotel in a French watering place, to which comes Dr Hernod under a cloud. The unfortunate medico, as he might have been called in those post-Victorian days, has administered the wrong drug to a child who, as the phrase has it, has died on him. Herriod eschews the medical profession, but Lallage knocks him up to attend the child of her partner, who Is suddenly stricken with appendicitis. Herriod, in spite of his remorseful renunciation, has a hypodermic syringe about him, and this! time there is' no mistake. He unburdens himself of his secret to Lallage, and a second and almost ideally happy marriage follows. The doctor turns to farming the estate which Lallage ha* inherited from her first husband. Then various young people appear on the scene, of whom, as we have said, it is not always easy to indicate the "whence," though the " vvhither" pleasantly occupies us till the end of the story. It is not a tidy book, despite the superficial use of the '•'Dear Brutus" method. There- are some good bucolic passages, including some impressive stable obstetrics, and a sheep washing which suggests an autolycus, who, however, does not materialise. There are, however, some good subsidiary characters, notably Mr Persimmon, the bookseller, who sets Lallage in the way of turning author. Mr Bullett is rather obvious in his pleasantries at the expense of the poor old Church of England in Victoria's day, and in the passages that relate to the Great War we seem to be aware of Mr Britling somewhere in the background, seeing it through; but, as has already been indicated, he has brought to iis in Lavage, the child dreamer whom life first deceived and then richlv bles-ed, a person whom we shall not' incontinently forget in the midst of <iy? fictional maelstrom. The Author: Gerald Bullett was born in 1893 at Forest Hill, near London, of poor parents, and educated in London schools. B'e saw service during the Great War, and after his release from the army went up to Jesus College, Cambridge, where he read for the English Tripos, taking an honours degree in 1921. He wrote his first novel, "The Progress of Kay," in 1916, and from . that time has written constantly fiction, essays, and fantasies, and contributed articles to the English press. He is married, with ' one daughter, and lives in Sussex, on the South Downs. His recreation is "staring at rural England."

Ky Ann Bridge A novel by Ann Bridge is always a work of art. In each of her four books we discern thd: particular genius defined as a capacny for taking pains; a sympathetic knowledge, and tolerance of human nature, and worlds of understanding. Indeed, apart from the aesthetic pleasure to be gained from her writing, there is for those who can recognise it a tremendous amount of practical advice in the art of living. There is in her novels always that absorbing and fascinating unravelling of the tangles in which ordinary human beings find themselves caught, either by circumstances or their own mistakes. Her people are real, and their problems not at all rare. " Enchanted Nightshade " is a study of a family in Italy 30 years ago. Dominating the book is La Vecchia Machesa, whose hundredth birthday ever draws closer, a magnificent portrait of an aristocratic old woman, whose observant and intelligent mind has achieved a great wisdom and tact after 100 yean: of life. Fraulein Salicher, the admirable Swiss governess, commands respect and affection from the reader, just as in the story she does from every member of the old Machesa's family. Almina Prestwich, the 22-year-old English girl, fresh from Oxford, but entirely ignorant of life, who comes to Gardorie as governess to Marietta, the old Machesa's granddaughter, is an attractive but pitiful figure. She is of good family, and when finar-ial misfortunes make it necessary for her to earn her own living, influence obtains for her this position with the noble Italian house. All might have been well had Almina been as governesses were expected to be, middleaged and plain; but when she arrived, young and charming and with pretty clothes, each member of the Castellone family, received not only a shock, but during the next few months was affected in some way great or small by the peculiar accident of a governess being a golden-haired young girl. ri fc of these repercussions that we •■- -d in "Enchanted Nightshade."

and skilful and beautiful is Miss Bridge's work—the leisurely but continuous rise to the climax, the graceful subsidence to that tranquillity which, pervading the last pages, remains in the mind of the reader long after the closing of this book. The Habsburgs History is undoubtedly the metier of Mrs Bertita Harding, and her colourful extracts from the recent tragedies of Central Europe .in " Royal Purple' and "Phantom Crown" have won her a public which will welcome the appearance of "Golden Fleece," the dramatic story of the ill-fated Habsburg dynasty during the long reign of Franz Joseph and Elizabeth. Mrs Harding tells her stories swiftly and well, and invests her historical facts with a lurid particularity which literally transforms the dry bones of her material into "something intensely and intimately real. In the distracted Europe of to-day'it may be suggested that no one cares a straw for the tragedy of the Habsburgs, but once embarked on this story of a great and noble family the reader begins to care more and more. As the climax draws nearer and nearer one gets a sense of high tragedy which develops into a magnificent denouement. The story is a tale rather than a history, but the author retains throughout a fine sense of proportion, and her brilliant reconstruction of many thrilling events is achieved by means of an almost perfect blending of imagination and solid fact. Mrs Harding goes right back to the early youth of the, emperor, who ascended; the throne in 1848, and follows his fortunes and misfortunes through the years to the fateful day in 1914 when the -84-year-old ruler saw his world crumbling before his dimming eyes. Violence and sudden death, rumour and intrigue and treachery filled the old man's latter years almost to the exclusion of any memory of the great days that were once his, and Mrs Harding has recaptured and reproduced them all in a manner which makes the most thrilling reading. By the Yangtae The Yangtse, river of mystery, has little comfort to offer Jennie Davidson when, gazing sadly into its depths, she reflects that inevitably in due course she must become a mother, and the man who was to have married her on the following day is lying dead. Jenny, true to a promise made three years before, has come to China to marry Leith Macalister, and the pair had anticipated the actual ceremony by a few hours before the prospective bridegroom was summoned on an errand which resulted in his being killed. Her introduction to China, therefore, is less than happy, and financial circumstances combine with pride in preventing her return home. She embraces many vocations, and makes a number of contacts, which are bizarre if slightly incredible, before finally finding her natural niche. This book, " Chinese River," is good reading despite its few improbabilities.

" Punch and Judas " t With that almost uncanny foresight with which the aged are so frequently gifted, Jane Walton's grandmother predicts that during Jane's experiences as a young woman she will meet closely the "Punch and Judas" who are always <to be found among mankind. It is not long after the old lady's death that her prophecy is fulfilled, for Jane, after a comparatively secluded upbringing, soon falls victim to the parlour tricks and, superficial joviality of Reginald Paling, a real Punch of a man. into whose arms she is virtually forced* Judas-fashion, by her cousin. > The unhappy' union follows a normal course: until.' without inspiration on the author's part, Paling is killed and real happiness ensues. " Sky-Rocket"

In a day when there are many capable and intelligent practitioners in the minor art of inditing mystery fiction, books as nicely-rounded and graceful as Mary Fitt's are still a rarity. It is possible that Miss Fitt is not as ingenious and delusive as some of the better-known authors of detective novels. Her work has neither the technical and literary pretensions of a Sayer, nor the grim. and dogged elucidatory tenacity of a Wills Croft. But few readers will even stop to raise this question with themselves. It is sufficient that "Sky-Rocket," like other stories; from her pen (and this reviewer must exclude the less successful " Three Hunting Horns") flows along smoothly, unostentatiously, telling a tale of love and murder in direct, perceptive language, with each character pleasantly defined, not '.n relation only to the deeds of violence, but, what is more important, in relation to life itself. The scene of the murder of that dangerous and discarded film celebrity, Natasya, is the country house of a famous English producer; the time is at night, as rockets blaze in the sky in celebration of the advent of a new "star" to the film world; and the guests are the company of actors and actresses assembled to study the scenario of a new picture. Miss Fitt handles all her materials with ease and insight, and " Sky-Rocket" provides, in every way. excellent reading.

Without Weapons Another competent woman writer in the realm of mystery is Anne Hocking, who has varied the ordinary routine in her murder story, / " The Little Victims Play." In the first place, the book is almost as much concerned with the love which springs up Mervyn, the wealthy Miss Selby's niece, and the young doctor at a fashionable seaside resort; in the second, whilst Miss. Selby is driven to her death as surely as if she had been knifed no legal murder is committed. It becomes, therefore, the purpose of Mervyn, who proves herself a dangerous—some might even say, vindictive —avenger, to pin the guilt of his crime upon Geoffrey Harden by other means. This she accomplishes with loyal if somewhat unconvinced helpers, in the final pages of a novel that seems to be a trifle too long. Miss Hocking writes quite well, and hers is an interesting book; but it falls short of holding the reader at that tension engendered by the best of the mystery novelists. Since she took medical advice as to the technical aspects of her book, the dissertation upon the effects of poisoning by veronal aonears to be unnecessarily incomplete. "Lamp-post 592"

This is described as a Secret Service story. The plot is far-fetched and the narrative rather drawn out. Juan de Luz, a millionaire citizen of a South American State, dies very suddenly of coronary thrombosis. Among his effects is a diary which contains some secrets of a nature which makes them of untold value to many a country. This is stolen, and Terrel and Bisket are sent to recover it. Up to this point the story is prom'sinsj, but frim "mn on it grows tedious, and the final hiding olace of the diarv is iust so unusually good as to be fantastic.

Cheaper Edition Rachel Swete Macnamara's " Fandango." a tale of romance involving holidays-makers in a Catalan town, appears in a cher.pcr edition. / V. V. L.

" Birds of the British Isles "

Publication of Mr Eric Fitch Daglish's exhaustive work. "Birds of the British Isles," upon which the author-artist has been engaged for six years, has been delayed. The work is in four quarto volumes, limited to 1500 copies at 8 guineas, and is illustrated with 200 wood engravings, including 30 in colour. An announcement of the publication date will be made by Messrs Dent as soon as possible. Mr Churchill's " Marlborough "

Mr Winston Churchill's final volume on " Marlborough" should be ready for publication in the early English

summer, Harraps announce. This final volume tells of " the fall of Marlborough " and the apparent frustration of his work. It also "exposes and explains the lamentable desertion by England of her leadership of the Grand Alliance or League of Nations, which has triumphantly broken the military power of Louis XIV. It shows how, when victory has been won, it can be cast away by the pride of a victorious war party and the intrigues of a pacifist reaction." Smuggling

J. Jefferson Farjeon is writing "The Compleat Smuggler," which will tell the history of smuggling in England, the U.S.A., Central and South America, the West Indies, the Pyrenees, Arabia, China, and elsewhere.