LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 134, 23 February 1918, Page 11

LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

Some Frenoh Detectives. "In his ever-readablo column in "The Sphere," C.K.S, warmly commends the; detective stories < of. tho well-known Frcnch novelist, Maurice Leblano, tho creator of that extraordinary character, Arsene Lupin. English' translations of seven or eight of those stories have been published, but by different publishers. _ Mr. Shorter suggests a collected, uniform edition of the Arsene Lupin stories. Such an edition would, I think, sell well ii) New Zealand. Two other very ingenious latter-day French writers who specialise in detective stories are Mossieurs Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain, a review of whoso latest book, "A Nest of Spios," appoars to-day in another column. 1 havo road four stories by these clever writers, in all of

which tho principal liguro is a mysterious and astoundingly ingenious and daring criminal named Fauumias, who is pursued, but never caught, by a shrewd old detective, Juve, assisted by a young journalist who plays the part of a French Watson. All these latterday French "detective.3"make good reading for those wh& find pleasure in this kind of fiction, but for my own partI hold them all much inferior to tiioso favourites of my youth, the famous (ffaboriau and Do Boisgobcy. I have been trying for somo years to got hold of a 6et of tho red-backed little volumes of these stories, published by Vitzetelly, in tho 'eighties, but have never succeeded. I wonder why some enterprising publisher does not' reissue them in a choap. collected edition. The present generation would, I think, find the famous Lecocq just as pleasant a companion for a spare hour or two as is Sherlock Holmes or Arsene Lupin. The New "Everyman" Volumes. Dents havo been obliged to raiso the price of the new "Everyman Library" volumes to eighteenpenee net, which means two shillings out here. Even at the advanced price tho books are still wonderfully cHeap. Seven new volumes have recently been added to the collection. In "Selected Papers _in Philosophy," by tho la.te William James, is included the famous essay, "What Pragmatism Means." An interesting addition is "The Memoirs of Cardinal cle Retz.." in two volumes. These famous Memoirs give a r'acv account of an interesting period in French history, the period of the Fronde, with, which Dumas dealt so entertainingly in some of his hostknow novels. A reprint of Maine's "Ancient Law" should be welcomed by students of' sociology, and Duruy's "History of France," written half a century ago, also occupies two volumes. The last item on the new list is a volumo of Russian stories "Tara, Bulba, and Other Tales," by _the famous Russian novelist, Nikolai Gogol.

I Stray Leaves. , ' A correspondent ("Bookie," Wellington) seeks my assistance in finding a set of tlie "Manchester Science Lectures," originally published,? he says, nearly, it' not quite, forty years ago. ■ "Bciolue'' suggests that some reader of "Books and Authors" may jiave a set of which he would be willing to dispose. Tho third series of "Georgian Poetry, 19J 5-1917," has been published from the Poetry Bookshop of London. I possess the first two. volumes, and shall inake a point of securing the latest issue when copies arrive in tho Dominiou. Amongst the poets represented in the third series aro John Drinkwater, Walter de la Mare, ltobert Nichols (the soldier poet, whoso "Ardours arid Endurances" was so warmly praised by the critics), Italpb Hodgson (to whose fme work I have more than once referred in this column), and that inimitably clever parodist, Mr. J. G. Squires. Mr. Sqtiires, by tho way, is credited with being identical with the writer wlio signs a weekly hook gossip | coluiiiu in "The New Statesman," ai journal which may bo described as a Radical "Saturday Review." Personally, I confess to -having never,been able to got through Lord Moriey's ' three-volume "Life" of. the late Mr. Gladstone, which seeflied to mo to bo as long-winded as most of the G.O.M.'s speeches. 13ut the Gladstone culf'has many members, in New Zealand, and theso will be interested, no doubt, in a recently-published book, "Some Hawardeii Letters," written fot tlie most part, to Mnr.v Gladstone (Mrs. Drew) by various Victorian political and' social notabilities-and-all-dealing, more or less, with the G.O.M. and his political life. Mra. Drew adds notes, and incidentally informs us that ter famous father left no fewer than forty volumes of diaries behind -him. Lord Gladstone hints that a selection from these diaries may see print when the war is over. Now that Mr.. Augustine Birrell is jm longer a Minister of tho Crown, it is to he hoped that he may resume what Andrew Lang—was it not?—called his "Birrelling," namely, the writing of thoso gossippy and delightful essays which .were, collected.in the Our Series of "Obiter; Dicta," "Res Judicatae," and "Jlen, Women, and Books." Mr. Birrell is now, I notice, a contributor to the advanced Liberal weekly, "The Nation," in a recent, issue of which I notice a review from his pen of Professor Jacks's "Life and Letters of Stopford Brooke." Most of Mr. Birrell's earlier essays appeared in the long defunct "Speakerto which, by the way, Mr., now Sir, Arthur Q.uiller Couch, contributed many essays and sketches. The best of Mi'. Birrell's essays aro now procurable in two volumes of that excellent series, Duckworth's Half-crown Library.

"Wanted, a Tortoise Shell." is the odd title of the latest novel by Mr. Peter Eliindell. As was tlie case with those delightfullv humorous stories, "Oil, Mr„ Bidgo.od!" and "Love Among the Coco-Nuts," the background is again the Malay States. Mr. Bluiidell is a genuine-humourist who - reminds me somewhat of Mr. W. W. Jacobs with a much extended canvas to work upon. Thoso who have not read his stories should make point of doing so on tho first opportunity.