SOME RECENT FICTION.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2211, 25 July 1914, Page 11

SOME RECENT FICTION.

"POTASH AND, PERI.MUTTER.' 1 It is seldom indeed that a hardened reviewer deliberately ' sets oi»t t-o buy ii novel. .Novels; alas, pour in upon the critic in such numbers as, at times, almost to snow him ■ under.. . But the. other day "Liber" went forth in cold blood and'' purchased at jVlossrs. S. and' W. Mackay's, two novels —they are rather collections o£ connected short stories —entitled respectively "Potash and Perlmuttcr" and "Abe and Mawrus." l'ho author is Montague Glass, an- American playwright and novelist, the publishers, Messrs. Hodder and Stoughton. The two books deal with Jewish life in -New'' York. 1 There are,- I believe I have read somewhere, a good half-million Jews in New York, which is, clearly, therefore, no plapo -for an anti-Semite, such as Mr. Hilaire Belloc for example. These two books by Mr. Glass' are ftiunded on plays' which have had a tremendous vogue in New York. They- are intensely funny productions,- dealing as they do with the commercial and social experiences and adventures of two Hustling Hebrews— true>"Yids," —who are engaged in the ready-mado cloak and suit trade. Not since tlie late 0. Henry gave us his riotously funny pictures of life" in "Bagdad on the Hudson" havo' I laughed more heartily over an American'book than I have done over "Potash and Perlmutter"—Abe -Potash and Morris or ,f Mawrus," Perlmutter. Potash and Perlmutter, who aro'Russian Jews by' birth," know the ready-made garment tjade from A to - Z, .or from collar-band to skirt hem, as I have no doubt they .would put it, and by the time the reader has q;ot -through tha two volumes he, too, will have acquired quite an intimate knowledge of the business, .especially its "selling" side. And • yet there is no wearisome detail Each and overy .episode in the book, whether it be the cajoling away of a supposedly . successful designer . from a rival establishment, or a doughty combat of 'wits with a competition for a; much coveted big order; or, again, the. special journeying to Paris of the artful Abo to study the very latest tips in fashionable styles, is described with uuerring realism, but the description is always permeated ■ by ati all-dominant flavour/ of ' humour. The dialect, a compound of Yiddish and American slang, may at first sight be 'a'little baffling, but when you reach an awkward sentence, read it ! out aloud, and you at'once get the swing, 'spirit, and sense of it. Abe is speculatively inclined; bis partner, MaWrus, cynically doubt-fill of his specs. Each is a character one-rarely .encounters/in current fiction. And there aro subsidiary figures almost equally amusing, notably Mr. "Philip Noblest-one" (formerly - Posach Edclstein) and the Jewish lawyer, 'Feldinann, who cleverly trades upon ' the ignorance of his clients by adorning his advice with tags of the most i extraordinary Latin. These two books are worth making acquaintance -with, being full of genial satire, .genuine humour, and replete with shrewd. observation of human nature. "Liber" bought' them for keeps—to bo placed alongside the works of. the , much-lamented Sidney Porter (0. Henry),. and he feels it a positive duty as ; well as a pleasure to recommend them. " By all means sample "Potash and Perlmutter"' without delay, and it is- pretty certain, I think, that you will proceed , to further enjoyment in the perusal of the sequel volume, "Abe and Mawrus." - ■ "THE MOUNTAIN APART." The name of James Prosper, antlior of "The Mountain Apart" (Heinemnnii, per' George Robertson), is new to mo, but' if his succeeding stories aro as good as the one just mentioned,' lie should be assured of. a rapidly-widening audience. "James Prospor , is, ] suspect, the pseudonym of some lady writer, for it is difficult to believe that any masculine hand could liavo penned such intimate, penetrating,- and .convincinc studios .of , femininity "as are to be found in this

novel. The story deals, for tho most part, _ with the marriage—a marriage only in a young lady who assists in managing a Brighton 'boardinghouse, with an eldorly, rich, but eccentric connoisseur. The personality of tho heroine. Hose Hilton, is complex, and sometimes not a trifle baffling, but her very weaknesses arc to her credit, and she well deserves her final good fortune. Tho strength of the novel is not, however, in the plot, but in the actuality of its situations and the convincing air of modernity and reality which pervades its pages. The portraits of such very different types of latter-day-English women as the heroine's partner, Lady Myrone, the two middle-aged lady boarders, and another boarder who plays with the dangerous lires of the Suffragette -movement, will not readily bo surpassed in current fiction. I can strongly recommend' "The Mountain Apart. "A FREE HAND." ' "A , Free Hand," by Helen. Roberts (Duckworth and Co., per George Robertson and Co.), Is from the same pen winch, gave Us those excellent novels— almost Jano Austen-like in tho simplicity of their telling—"Old Brent's Daughter" and "Something New," both of which, when they first appeared, were highly commended in this column. In her new story, Miss Roberts tells the life- history—at least the major part thereof—of a young man who wa-s born of shopkeeping parents, in a quiet Sussex town, is enabled, through his mother's wise disposition of a legacy, to rise superior to his surrounding, ana study for and enter u.e profession of dentistry. His parents wish' him to marry a companion of-his-youth, but opportunity" and a romantic temperament make him fall in love with an actress, who, 'herself only in love with her profession, is touched by the young fellow's sympathy and assistance when illness has temporarily driven her from the-boards. The marriage turns out a mistake, and ends in a divorce, the hero turning for consolation to a faithful country girl who has long loved "him'in secret. The story has but little plot!. _ Its charm, and that charm is undeniable, lies in its firmly-drawn, convincing • character studies, and the quiet, but fascinating smoothness of its narration. A' restful, eminently pleasant story,, and like its predecessors, conveying a markedly truthful presentment of everyday life in a small English town. I "RODINC RECTORY. , / ■,■ - / Archibald Marshall, whose capital ■■first novel, "Exton Manor," many of us thought quite equal to Trollope's best work, and whose even better story, "The Honour of the Clintons' 1 was so well received last year, is almost as successful in his new story of English country life, ''Boding Rectory" (Stanley Paul and Co.). The antagonistic influences in a small country town.of the Established Church and Dissent are cleverly exhibited - and contrasted, but although it is easy to see where tho author's personal sympathies lie, there is not even the suspicion of any unfair partiality in his character sketches of Anglican vicars and curates, and the representatives of Nonconformity. Neither liave.l any doubt as to the sincerity of the author's pleasure ,when, in the lu.al chapter, the son of Dr. Meadows,, the great Nonconformist divine,- who, worn out by his London labours, temporarily takes charges of the modest little chapel at Roding, marries the rector's daughter. The story lias many good features, not th 6 least being tho dexterity and good taste -with which certain; rather, awkward incidents are dealt^with, , and the character drawing is careful and effective. The story drags 'a little. :at.times, but much may be forgiven tho author for the fine quality of the story's literary craftsmanship. ; ••■' ;■'/■.- RUNG HOI'-%■■' The Anglo-Indian, novel 'has been rather overdone of late, but there is a .quite refreshing freshness and vigour not only in the plot but in the majority of the characters of Mr. Talbot Mundy's h'uo story, "Rung Ho I" (Cassell and Co., per S. and W. Mackay). 'The scone is laid in Howrali,acityof one of the natives states of Rajputana;.tlie:period that of the Indian Mutiny; tho leading characters a young English officer, Cunningham' Bahadur, in command, of a small iiajput force; his native lieutenant, adviser, and faithful -friend, Mo-' liammed Gunga, and Rosemary M'Lean, a missionary's daughter, whom;;a. native prince, Jaimibr, brother of the' reigning Maharajah, would fain add to his:harem. 'JJhe author very cleverly'illustrates the unswerving loyalty of Mohammed Gunga and his brethren, who have known and served in frontier warfare, under Cunningham's father. Gunga, indeed is the real hero of the story, in which tho treacherous Jaimihr is chief villain. Jaimihr covets his .brother's throne as well as the missionary's daughter, and tho author gives his readers a series of highly,drainatic pictures of palace intrigues in a native state. Tho minor characters aro exceptionally well done. As for the main narrative, it moves with such a compelling swing that it is difficult to put the book down once tho first chapter has been perused. I can cordially commend "Rung Ho!" as quite the best Indian story that has appeared this many a long day. ; SHORTER NOTICES. In a-novel named "London Circus" Henry Baerlein, whose recently-pub-lished book on Mexico was so well reviewed, introduces, under their real names, not a- few literary and other celebrities of the day. ■ Here is a good etory which he tells of witty Charles Brookfield, the actor, afterwards Censor 1 of Plays:—"Did thoy expect me to resign the Censorship and" murmur, ''Domino, non digniis sum; Lord, I am not Galsworthy 'f " One of the characters is an art critic, of some pretensions, but little experienced Of him it is remarked that "Some one had. explained to Mm the terms "Chiaroscuro," "Albert Cuyp," and "impaste," and "on Monday afternoon he started oriticising art." On some colonial journals, I fear, reviewing and "art criticism" —save the mark —are handed over to tho police , court.reporter or the young gentleman who. "does" the junior-foot- , ball. ' ' . New .Zealandors who are Old Country born, and who may wish to bo reminded of their earlier environment, should look out for the new volumes, as they appeal of Mothuen's excellent "Little Guides" series, ,'l'hey provide, in a smaller and less expensive form, much the same information on tho various counties which is found in Macmillan's well-known "Highways and Byways" series. The volumes of the latter cost six shillings, whereas the "Little Guides" are only, a third of that price. The latest volume to appear deals with Cambridgeshire. These books are most j daintily illustrated.

That enterprising firm, the N.S.W.Bookstall Company, continue to add- to their already long list of shilling novels, written by Australian authors, denliiig, for the most part, with Australian life, and illustrated by Australian artists. Three recent new-comers are "A Rebel of the Bush," by Don. Dolanoy; "Tools of Satan," by Lancelot Booth; and "Australian Barkers and Biters," by Robert Kaleski. Mr.-Dc-lancy's story describes life in the Mothor Colony in tho early clays, in tlie tlays of Governor Macquarie. A leading incident is the Bathurst insurrection, an ill-starred attempt to establish a republic in the new settlement. The story is told with much dramatic pQ'cct, and the author's pictures of lifo in the. old colonial days are as interestinj; a 8 they are instructive, Mr. Lancelot Booth's "Tools of Satan" is a lurid-

ly sensational story, quite in tho good old London Journal stylo, the period being tho earlier 'sixties of the last century, the background, for tho most part, an English village. "Australian Barkers and Biters" is quite a different kind of book, containing, as it does, a series of racily written sketches of dogs and dog life in Australia, with some additional studies of cats, cockfighting and buck-jumping. Tho chapters on tho cattle dogs, kangaroo dogs, and tho Australian native dog, the dingo, are exceptionally interesting, rius is a little book which might well be issued in a cloth binding, and without'the ill-drawn and often quite absurd illustrations by Hugh Maclean. All these books are wire-stitched, and in the case of Mr. Kaloski's volume the wiring projects so fad- into the page that it is almost impossible to read tho book with any comfort. Wire-stitching is simply an abomination. May Wynne is wisely loyal to • the genre in which she made, by her "The Helmet of Navarre," her first success. There is always a big public for- the romance historical; and for this public Miss Wynne haß become by this time an experienced and most efficient eaterfir. In her latest story, "The Silent Captain" (Stanley Paul and Co.), she takes her readers back to the Franco °f the Catholic-Huguenot wars, with tho famous Conde and tho Due- ■de Guise as.chiof actors. But Miss Wynne wisely does not rely upon the vividity of her historical colour, fqr she gives interesting love story of much, dramatic interest in cctain of its episode's!" Dcnise and TJrsulie are charming heroines, and their lovers are Glints well worthy'of them; A very readable novel ■ ■' ■ ■ Recent additions to John' Long's popular sixpennies tho "The King's Favourite,!' ; a cha-icteristic sporting story by Nat Gould • and two more ,or less sensational stones, "No. 3, The Square,"'by Florence Warden,- and Miss Arnott's Marriage," bv Richard Marsh; To the same publisher's Sevenponny. Series of cloth-bound novels has been added one of Curtis Yorko's popular stories, "Mollij Deverill." Musjcal people mil be mtinly interested in Francis Toye's story, "Diana and Two Svmplionies" (Heinemann; per George Bobertson and Co.) The heroine is the wife of en eminent musical composer, who in nia enthusiasm for his art gradually negkets the woman, whom, however, he dearly loves. Diana, on her side, philanders with another musical celebrity, a .Jewish conductor and composer, but, doubtful as to tho real nature of her liking for the man,, stops, short just- in. time, and seeks refuge in Brittany. Tho husband, who has been blissfully unconscious of any jarring note in his domestic happiness, follows her, and the pair are duly reconciled. The story is chiefly notable for its pictures' of : the musical world of London.