SOME RECENT FICTION.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1972, 31 January 1914, Page 9

SOME RECENT FICTION.

A NEW NOVEL BY MARY JOHNSTON. A new,story trom Mary Johnston, of whose excellent novels, "Tho Old Dominion," "Audrey,": "By Qrder of the Company," and "The Long Koll" so many .New Zealand readers lavo such graceful memories, is quito an event. In "Hagar" (Constable nnd Co.; per Vleorge Hobertson and Co.) Mites Johnston departs altogether- froni. her. precedents- as to periods and scenes, for the story, deals neither with, the South of the old colonial days nor the South of tbo great civil war. It is quite a modern story, not only in period and scene, but in spirit, being to a large extent an exposition and championing of whafc is now familiarly, if very loosely, called "feminism." The -heroine, the daughter of a solf-indulgent father, who prefers to live in London and Paris to wliat he considers merely vegetating on his ancostral Virginian estate, is a rebel from her youth. She reads Darwin, thereby shocking tho local orthodox, ha-s a romantic lovo passage with a young echoolmaster, sad after the death of her mother settles in New York with ambitions for a literary career, and is attracted by the Socialist propaganda. Her next phase is in Europo. After travelling for some time with her father, whoso second wife has boon lost in a shipwreck, she settles in London, being now a successful author. She meets again an ex-convict named Denny, to whom, in her childhood, when he was attempting escape, she-had given food, and who. is the editor of''a Socialist paper. For a time there ie a danger of self-wreckage, for she falls in love with Denny, despite the fact that he is a married man, Her passion, however, is sternly self-repressed, and her father dying Hagar returns to Now York to espouse with enthusiasm the suffragist and -feminist movement, in common with Denny and his wife, finally marrying a ruther common-place civil engineer. There is a- "talky, talk'y" tone about the story,which will hardly plcjist} Miss Johnston's old admirers, and although there is clearly 8. desire to be realistic, one feels that the effort is over-laboured, and tho story hardly rings true. Anything that Miss Johnston writes is always worth reading, but frankly- her last novel is somewhat disappointing. Miss Johnston is. decidedly not at her best in a'purpose novel.

EDEN PHILPOTTS'S LATEST. "Tho Joy of Youth," by Eden-Phil-potts (George Bell and Sons; per Whitcombo and Tombs) will couie as a great surprise to those who know the long series of novels in which tho author has taken Devonshire and Cornwall for his "mckground. For the novelist now takes us to Italy, to Firenise—the name Florence ho will havo none of—and shows tho gradual growth of lffvo between a handsome and wealthy young artist, for whom Art is the most important thine ■ihlifeMndeod Life itself—and a charming young- English girl, an amateur artist, who, when she- leaves England, is.engaged to a typical [representative of the': rich,' Conservative county '■ fatally class. Sir Raleigh Vane, a baronet, is a well-moaning gentleman, but somc'what- priggish, and naturally, to a man of his views on life, tho influence which ho sees the young artist, Bertram Dangerfiold, gradually obtaining over Ltfrveday Merton, is regarded as almost poisonous. The girl, however, has a mind and will of her own, and slio revolts against the dictation of her fiance, who, happily for all parties, breaks off the- engagement and marries a cousin, wit3i entirely "proper" opinions about politics, life, and art. The story is told partly in letters, and ■Mr. )")angorliehrs lengthy disquisitions on the' Great Musters, nnd on art generalljv'are somewhat- overdotte, although tho admiring Lovoday' did not: seem to find tliem wearisome-. It is difficult,, also, to accept the novelist's portrait of the baronet a-s true to llfo. Surely, at the present day, no country justice, even though a stupid sort of man, could never ;deliver himself thus :■— On tho Bench ono sees many a glimpso of tho bitter class pre.iudico now spreading like a poisonous ' germ into the hearts of the poor. A man ten days ago fltmg his boot at mo .from tho'dock, after I had " sentenced him to' a wck of impris- ■ oumeut for breaking Farmer .Bur- ■ don's hedges and stealing roots of ..fern and primrose. I c-aagjit tfeo book rather neatly and quite disarmed the rascal. Hβ was tho first to applaud tho catch; and yestor- . day he came to mo for work! ' That is not satire; but merely caricature. As for Dangerfield's continual cackle about art, art above everything, art which shall govern life/ and so forth,'it seems to mo that even the rather stupid baronet is not far from the truth when he says: But he (DangorfieldV belongs to the modern movement, whien is striving to put art in aft utterly wrong relation to life. . •. ■. Tho . uglier, the. art, the more noise they mako about it. Artists, in fa-ct, . like all other people, must be kept in their places. There is an inclination to dictate to the nation; and_ not content with sticking to . their last, they must needs mako ' themselves supremely ridiculous, by becomihg propagandists and flinging .themselves into all sorts of questions that don'i concern them. There aro many charming passages in Mr; Philpotts's new story, but I cannot say wiat I like either his new. scenario or his new Tho sooiwr ho gets back to I/ovonshiro and rural life and character the bettor "Liber" will bo pleased. One such novel as "Tho Sepret''Woman," ''Tho_ fiivo.i',"'or "Tbo Forest on the Hill," is, to my mind, worth a baker's dozen of such stories aii "Tho Joy of Youth," clever and courageous a's it may be, iu its championing of tho so-called modern spirit.

THE TOLL OF THE RIVER. Novels'with an Egyptian background are each year becoming more namefons, and in not a few of them a strong fca* turo is made of tho venality and indeed, utter lack of ordinary honosty, which is, alas, so strong a characteristic of tho educated young Egyptians. This is tlio caso with Mr. Andrew FirtTi's powerfully written and really striking story, "Tho Toll of tho River" (Melrose: per George Robertson and Co.), in which the principal figure, a young English official of the Irrigation De* partment, has his career ruined through tho plotting of a. rascally young Egyptian, ono of his subordinates. In Maurice H&fVoy's official downfaß, however, the primary factor is his intrigue with tho wife of a fellow British official, for, in order to savo tho honour of tho woman, Harvey winks at tho shamelessly open "graft," practised by tho scoundrelly Miilmmd Bilel and so brings about his own ruin. The courageous English girl who loves Harvey and forgives so aiuch is a strongly drawn character, and tho yo\ing man's chief, who, for tU&'hoaour «{ tho wsrioe, would- willingly kA earner na tfes xamgar saa'is vmb-

ness, is also a convincing figure. Incidental to tho main story is that of a pretty but foolish English girl, who marnea a young Egyptian, and is lucky enough to escapn life-long misery by a divorce*. "The Toll of the Kivor ,, is in many ways a very original and readable novel. .';" .

LORD LONDON. Keblo Howard, whose brightly written stories, such as "Tho Smiths of Surbiton" and "Lovo in a Cottage" have been so popular, Isaa, in Iris latest hovel, "Lord London" (Bell and Sons, per Whitcombo and Tombs), taken ns Jus subject tho journalistic career of tho famous Lord Northcliffe. Exactly how far Mr. Howard lia« mixed fiction with _ reality, 1 do not know, but the starting by his youthful hero, Hannibal Quaiii, oE the weekly journal, "Yon and I," tho boom given to tho paper by an ingenious coupon competition ("A Pound a Week for Life"), the subsequent starting of the "Littlo Daily," tho purchase, or starting of dozens of other journals, and tho evolution of Sir Hannibal Qimin, Bnrt., subsequently Lord London, from tho bright wittccl, young follow who started in lifo with practically mot-bine behind him but liis brains, arc all decidedly reminiscont of the foundation of "Answers," the wonderful success achieved by the "Daily Mail," and other incidents in tho career of Mr Harmsworth, later Sir Alfred Harmsworth, tho present Lord Nefrthcliffe, the so-ealled Napoleon of •British Nowspapsrd'om. It is a most amusing story,, with much quiet satire in it. As a story of newspaper life, though more from the proprietorial than the working journalist's point of view, it deserves a placo besides Mr. Philip Gibb'a "Street of Adventure"; Mr. Montague's "A Hind Let Loose"; and Mr. Ctaurlandor'a "Mightier Than tho Sword." .

T» TEMBARON. Mrs. Hodgson Burnett, nowadays quite , a veteran amongst novelists, scares a decided hit with what will, I think, be voted by many readers, one of the most entertaining novels of tho season. This is "T. Tembaron" (Ho.dder and Skmghton; yor S, and W. Mackay and Whitcorabe and Tomlw). "T. Tembaron' 'is short for Temple Temple Barhoim, but it is not short enough for the hero, a young American reporter, half-educated, slangy, frankly outspoken, but withal a loyal and honest lad, who usually alludes to himself as .T.T. Tembarton is suddenly discovered to bo the lost-lost heir to the Temple Barhoim estates, in Lancashire, nnd comes into the remarkably snug income of £70,000 a year. And to England T. Ternbaron, the ex-roporter, goes, blissfully ignorant of tho life and duties of the head of a great estate. How ho interprets those duties, and how frankly ho is bored by his new greatness, how bis slang baffles his new associates, how relations endeavour to sponge upon him, how a wily adventurer seeks, but fails, to swindle him, . how he is beloved by the villagers,- how he does many kindly actions which are sadly misinterpreted, how lv> rotnsifis true to a dear little Lancashire-bred girl whom ho has met in New York, and who, with her father, is now in England; how in the end ho finds* that.he isuotthe true hair'-at all, and how thsit Simon Pure turns out to bo a mysterious Englishman who had lost, his' momory, and had been befriended b[f T.T. in New York-—all this, and much mow than I can evw attempt to suhittuirist, is told by Mrs. Burnett with unfailing vigour and charm. "T.T.'" is one of the jolliest, most wholesome mimlod hemes, that I have met with in recent, fiction, and. them will bo not mio reader of this pleasant sto-tr; who will not, I venture to say, wish the stout-hen rted young fellow cvory .happiness whon wo leave htm .nottlwl. Hftm'tticoTO&irtftWv in a tinv fla| in New Yerk, honnv and loynl, awd mninontlv sensible littVs .LancnVliiro.'fe'ss to help.him to "win through" in a life for .hotter suited to him tfcnn that of thn lord if the manor of Tetnnlc Brirnolm. Bv nil menus, read "T. Tembaron." It is really a capital story. /