LITERATURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3511, 28 June 1921, Page 54

LITERATURE.

BOOK NOTICES. ‘ : The Love of Prince Raameses.” By Antony Armstrong, author of “The Lure of the Past.” Like "The Lure of the Past,” which was noticed in these columns last year, “this is a reincarnation novel. But while in the preceding romance one person relived in consciousness portions of many previous lives scattered over vast periods of time, here we have a fuller narrative of one previous incarnation of the subject. He, in our world of to-day, was a young English officer who fought in the Great War, and was terribly wounded and crippled. In this state of invalidism he commences to dream vivid dreams, which recur every night, and form a sequence, being, as he soon realises, recollections of a long-past earthly life. Then he begins to record his dreams, writing them down while still in a half dream state. After his death a friend comes into possession of these papers, with a letter from the dead man suggesting their preparation for publication. The friend has much difficulty in deciphering the writing, which is in a street-.}* hand and written from right to left. This -is explained as being due to the predominance of the dream personality, for the writer was recording experiences of his life as an Egyptian prince thousands of years ago. Very fortunately, however, he wrote iu English instead of ancient Egyptian. The dream narrative begins with recollections of the subject's boyhood in ancient Egypt. He has been brought up by peasant foster parents, but at 14 years of age is sent for to the Court, 'where he is educated in all princely accomplishments. When grown up it is revealed to him that he is the son of the reigning Pharaoh, now old and feeble, and a puppet in the hands of ambitious priests. Then follows a narrative of intrigue and adventure, of the plottings of the rival priesthoods of Ptah and Amen, with accompaniments of murder, mystery, and magic. The Prince is a worshipper of Ptah, and the priests of Amen are his irreconcilable enemies. He falls in love with a beautiful priestess of Amen—a love fated to bring about the close of that stage of their earthly existence. It has been rather the fashion of late to exalt the ancient civilisation of Egypt, and feminists in partcular enlarge on the advanced status of its women, for superior to that enjoyed by most of their sisters to-dav. this implying, of course a general superiority in mental enlightenment and civilisation. The picture given in this romance is by no means in agreement; cruelty, superstition, a despotic priesthood, and an enslaved people being its dominant features. Perhaps Mr Armstrong's reading of history is wrong, or perhaps his hero did not live in Egypt’s goklen age, or perhaps there never was such an age. Let historical students decide. Meanwhile the average reader of fiction is little concerned about historical accuracy, and will be quite ready to accept this ’picture of ancient Egypt as a background for a modern romantic melodrama. The story will be recommended, too. by the present vogue of the old Eastern teaching of successive incarnations. “The Boy Heroes of France.” Adapted from Plenty's “The Young FrrincTirears,” by Isabel Aland Peacocke. Wliitcombe and Tombs. This is one of the series of Southern Cross Continuous Readers, and is designed for Standard IV. The aim of this series of readers is to provide continuity of interest, and to give the pupils full ac* quaintance with standard works suitable to their stage of progress. Most of the volumes contain a single story or an abridgement of it; some of those for the junior pupils contain selected fairy stories by Grimm, Andersen, and Kingsley. This one gives an abridgment of Plenty's story of the Franco Prussian War, “The Young Frane-Tireurs,” interest in which has been revived by the recent great conflict. The story is chiefly concerned with an English family resident in ’France, the two sons of which, aged 15 and 16, join the “FrancTire m s''—-irregular volunteer troops enrolled to aid in the defence of their country against the invading Prussians. Such service was doubly hazardous, since the Prussians refused to acknowledge the Franc-Tireurs as soldiers, and shot them when made prisoners, together with any of the country people suspected of aiding them. The story describes many cases of cold-blooded cruelty in which Fiance had a foretaste of the barbarities of the invaders in the Great War. The adventures of the two English boy 3 and their Frenc companions will he followed with lively interest by the young readers of our schools. Several illustrations are given. The work of adapting the store- so as to bring it within the compass of a class reader has been very satisfactorily performed by Miss Peacocke. SOME CHEAP FICTION. Now that new novels are usually anything between 6s and 10s, the cheap reprints of popular novels that are being issued by Mr John Long will he welcomed by the reading public. A parcel just sent contains 10 in paper covers at Is net, and three or four in the more compact cloth-covered volumes at 2s net. The authors represented are Curtis Yorko, who contributes three of the set ; an oldtime Victorian favourite, Helen Mathers; FI 01 •cnee w arden, whose popularity also dates back to Victorian days ; Richard Marsh, whose stories can be depended on for a telling plot and plenty of “go” ; Theodora (loodridge Roberts, whose specialty is stirring tales of Canadian life; Ernest Glanville, Dick Donovan. .J. iS. Fletcher. Fergus Hume, Guy Thorne, and Marion Hill. It is a number of years since Air Guy Thorne’s novel “When It Was Dark” made something of a sensation. For the benefit "i those who do not know the story i* he mentioned that it was founded on the supposed demonstration

of the falsity of the Gospel record of the j Resurrection, and that its motive was to show the moral chaos that would result from general loss of any faith in Christianity. The supposed documentary evidence is later proved to be a fabrication. Though the tale had no high literary merit, its theme naturally secured it wide circulation and its author a great reputation with uncritical readers. The motive of the story now reprinted, “A Lost Cause,” is also religious, but the plot is comparatively tame. The story is told from the point of view of a devout High Churchman, and turns on a “No Popery” campaign directed against the vicar of St. Ehvyn’s Anglican Church, London, by the vulgar, narrow-minded editor and proprietor of a local newspaper. He himself, having little religion.: sentiment, is less bigoted than the ignow it people whose prejudices he inflames; hut he sees financial nrolit in his campaign and goes to all lengths in waging it. The inevitable .love interest is provided in the gradually-growing attachment between Father Biantyre’s sister, at first a Laodicean in religions matters, and the highminded vicar of a neighbouring London parish, who is won over from Evan-gelic-ism to High Church ism. “Woman the Sphinx.” by Fergus Hume, is another of the shilling volumes. Most readers will remember how Fergus Hume, a New Zealand writer, came into prominence with his sensational storv “The Mystery of a Hansom Cab.” He wrote several more mvetery stories, of which this is one. Tt shows the influence of | Ibsen’s and Bjornseu’s treatment of modern teachings of heredity. The seamy side of life sensationally treated, the chief figure a woman, victim of had heredity, who leads a double life—this sums up the story. As a relief from haunts of Parisian wickedness we have idyllic pictures of a secluded Devonshire village, far beyond the range of railroads and even coaches, and an innocent child-iike young girl. The other stories will he briefly noticed later.