“SATURDEE”

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXVIII, Issue 65, 10 March 1933, Page 6

“SATURDEE”

NORMAN LINDSAY'S NEW NOVEL AN AUSTRALIAN PUBLICATION “ Saturdeq. ’ ’ a humorous novel of schoolboy life, by Norman Lindsay is the first book published by the Endeavour Press, the new Australian book publishing 1 company organised by Mr P. R. Stephenson and Air Norman Lindsay in conjunction with the Sydney ‘ ‘Bulletin. ” The book deals with the amusing adventures of boys ami girls in a mining township. It is a book about juveniles and not. like the famous “Magic Pudding,’ 7 a book for juveniles.

From the point of view of grown-ups these mischief-making youngsters arc little imps of Satan, for the childrcr themselves regard their parents and elders without, respect. “Will I? 7 ’ says Peter ferociously to his friend donkey. “Will T go to put flowers on Gran'ma’s grave on a Saturdee?” Any other day would not have been so bad, but “Saturdee 77 was a day marked holy in Peter's calendar, the only day in the whole week when he could really ertjoy himself with his friends.

Their enjoyment consisted mainly <*f getting into mischief. The author describes the pranks of the schoolboys with great zest —-how they stoned billygoats and chinamen and fowls, played at being bushranger-, went swimming, made a cannon, fought over games, “wagged it 77 from school, stole pears, climbed doofs. rode behind carts, played at lovemaking with the girls—in short did everything that they should not. in the opinion of their parents and ciders.

They went too far, however, when they exploded gunpowder under the vestry and “knick-knocked” at the clergyman’s door .for the Reverend Crichct was a champion sprinter, and he wielded a terrible flexible cane. Norman Lindsay’s versatile genius finds its most popular expression in this book of extremely amusing char-acter-sketches of juvenile Australians, which will arouse a wide interest. The book is printed and published in Australia and compares favourably in appearance, type, and binding, with the best imported novels.