ADDITIONS TO LIBRARY

Taranaki Daily News, 1 December 1934, Page 14 (Supplement)

ADDITIONS TO LIBRARY

EARLIER CIVILISATIONS MISS FRANKAU’S “LITERARY GENT.” WINNING THE SCHNEIDER TROPHY. The Chief Librarian of the New, Plymouth Public Library reports the following books in popular demand:— General Literature. “Behind the Smoke Screen,” by Briga-dier-General P. R. C. Groves. “Hitler. Over Europe,” by Ernst Henri. “Everest 1933,” by Hugh Ruttledge. “The Houston Mount Everest Expedition 1933," by Air Commodore Fellowes and Others. . “Chinese Testament,” by S. Tretiakov. "When Ships Go Down,” by David Masters. Fiction. “Winds of Fortune,” by Jeffery Farnol. “I, Claudius,” by Robert Graves. "The Ante Room,” by Kate O’Brien. “Cappy Ricks Comes Back,” by Peter B. Kyne. "Shabby Tiger," by Howard Spring. .. "The Guests Arrive,” by Cecil Roberts. The following books have been added recently to the library. “Beyond the Mexique Bay,” by Aldous Huxley. (Chatto and Hindus, Londo.n). It goes without saying that a record of investigation into earlier civilisation by Mr. Aldous Huxley would be of great interest. “Beyond the Mexique Bay” is a most interesting description of what Mr. Huxley saw in those little known countries in Central America of which Mexico is the most important. This is no dry as dust scientific record. Mr. Huxley takes his readers with him, sb to speak, tells them what he seCs, and the thoughts the relics of past and the vagaries of present day civilisation bring to him. He does it without any air of superiority or of the professor addressing his class. He tells of the effects of democratic rule in the condition of the land in the fertile districts of Mexico, and he will write just as convincingly of the architecture of pre-Columbian Central America, and compare the American temple buildings with those of ancient Greece or of India.

Mr. Huxley claims that much of the Central American art is “folk-art” and therefore worth investigation. He is sarcastic at the “copy-writers” or “poster designers” paid by “rich and eminent members of every society” to “put them across” in nation-wide publicity drives. But because the desire for publicity has been gratified by artists of inferior quality there exist “from the tomb of Tutankamen to the Queen , Victoria Memorial, those innumerable monuments of vulgarity which constitute, in such large measure, what is beautifully called the World’s Artistic Heritage. Folk-art is often dull or insignificant; never vulgar, and for an obvious reason. Peasants lack, first the money, and, second, the technical skill to achieve those excesses which are the essence of vulgarity.” Nevertheless the author warns against an extravagance of admiration for primitive peoples, either of the part or to-day. An occasional acrid paragraph can be forgiven, however, for the interesting and illuminating discussion of “Maya” and other civilisations of which ruins, in themselves stupendous, are the book of records from which Mr. Huxley has drawn a fascinating and brilliant history. The illustrations are a welcome addition to the attractiveness Of the volume.

“Schneider Trophy,” by Wing-Com-mander A. H. Orlebar. ■ (Seeley Service Co. Ltd., London.)

There is nothing of ancient civilisation in this “personal account of high-speed flying and the winning of the Schneider trophy in 1931.” A brief history of the Schneider Trophy competitions is given as well as a list of the winners from 1913 when the trophy was won by a French airman, M. Prevost. The next year . Mr. Howard Pixton won it for Great Britain. Until 1918 airmen were engaged in sterner work, and in 1919 the contest was abandoned because of fog. Italy won it in 1920 and 1921. Great Britain in 1922, U.S.A. 1923 to 1925, Italy in 1926, Great Britain in 1927, 1929 and 1931, since when there has been no contest.

The book is quite untechnical and should interest all who are studying the science of aviation and considering the justification, or otherwise, of speed competitions.

“Tatsell-Gentle,” by Pamela Frankau. (John Lane the Bodley Head Ltd., London.)

This is the story of an individual whom London boardinghouse keepers of a generation ago would have described as a “literary gent.” It is the'life history of -Penn Jacob Rolf, a successful writer to whom freedom from friends and even lovers is as necessary as life. From the time when Jacob Rolf runs away from his Devonshire home and gets a lift to the nearest market town whence he is “rescued” by the curate who listens to Jacob’s imaginings before telling hifn. be saw him in the vegetable cart, the reader feels Jacob is no Ordinary boy; The conviction is confirmed When he meets for the first time Ferdinand and Bianca Kish, Ann Poynter and Dick Lowe. The childish adventure, in which Jacob is no little boy hero, was the prelude to many later comminglings of the children. Jacob becomes a writer whose brilliance .is only equalled by his erratic methods and strange manner of living. He meets Ann Poynter again when he is just about to marry Sabrina Hemingway, a wealthy American girl. Penn feels Ann’s strong attractiveness but the reason for his break with Sabrina is that he cannot stand the tie of married life, that he has in fact become tired of her, of the luscious, pampered life her wealth has made possible, an atmosphere in which Penn’s ability was becoming smothered. He and Ann elope, and after Sabrina has obtained a divorce they marry and a young “Jake” is added to the establishment. Penn’s devotion to Ann is the greatest and gravest influence in his career. Yet at times Ann feels she is losing her hold of his strange personality. Penn makes huge demands upon his friends and lovers. He has his greatest moments and impulses, but the whole book is ah exposition' of the theory that a genius must not be measured by the yardstick of ordinary humanity. It is a theory that is quite open to challenge and this book with all its brilliant characterisation leaves the reader rather wondering what all the bother is about. The characters. of Penn’s father and' mother are merciless, possibly as showing that offspring of such people were likely to be unusual. Bianca’s infatuation for Penn is not a pleasant story, nor is that of Penn’s association with the degenerate O'Sullivan.

Dick Lowe, whose loyalty to Aim is one of the most fragrant elements in’this rather exotic narrative, is. an interesting character. It looked at one time as though his constancy would be rewarded, but once again Fate took a hand, and the volume closes with Penn still making demands upon others and reserving for himself unlimited freedom. “Tas-sell-Gentle” is a clever though bitter piece of work though in her analysis of Penn’s character and strivings the author shows remarkable powe’—