SOME RECENT FICTION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 223, 14 June 1919, Page 13

SOME RECENT FICTION

[The spring crop of new fiction appeiiK to .be unusually heavy this year, judging by' the number'of review copies recently received. 'Pressure on my spaco precludes lengthy or dftailed' criticism.] "Fruit.of Earth," byJ. 'Mills..Wliethum

(Melhucii and Co.). . ' The author of those.excellent stories, "Wolfgang"- and. "Starvecrow Farm," now gives. us a powerful if somewhat-dc-,l)rc.«ii)» fitudy of-ii j-oiing-fiinner's passion for a woman who loves an educated ■recluse. The latter, whilst philaiKleriiig witli'the village girl ( is caught in the toils of a scnliniental atlachinent to an invalid

lady, who is separated from her . husband. The- elemental passion of the rural swain, his.sullen jealousy of the literary recluse, the conflict .hvi/>t love and duty which tears asunder the soul ofilhc farmer's wife, are all described with » restrained yet compelling slrcnsth. There is a Hardy-liko quality about the rurai litmosphcre which pervades the story, the tragic, denouement being worked.'out with a. grim, but clever, ronlisiu. | "Tho Orchard.of Tears,'.'.by Sax Itohmer .. (llctliiien.aiid Co.). ... J .■Sax Itohmer is giving his • mysterious ! Chinaman, ])r. l-'u Manclni,- a temporary rest. His latest story has for chief figure.a young, author of exceptional genius. At-tfi'onty-six Paul. Jlaris had "swept across the literary terrain, storming line after ling." H? hns »'myet^rt-

ous friend, Jules Tliessaly, who is deeply versed in tho oi'onlt lore'of the East, and does not favour Paul's infatuation lor a young lady who rejoices in the limit of I'laniby Diivcen. The reader is indoduced to artistic circles in London, and. there is clever 'dialogue and some strong charactcr-diawing. The '"story, which soon resolves iieelf into a struggle between love and friendship, ends on a tragic note, (lie hero, after destroying tho nianu.-ieript ol' iiis.-my-liciil nristerpic.-e, and taking a pathetic leave of his "woodnymph," his own wife 'luring previously deserted him for an atrociously vulgar sensualist, seeking and finding death in a .Zeppelin raid. A somewhat weird but, in its own way. fascinating romance. "The Golden Bough," by Georßq G.ibbs . (N.V.,. Appletim and Co., per Wliit- • combo and Tombs), Is'a highly nensationnl-war story. The hero, a you.ug American, become.- involved in the tangled, plotting.; of a .Russian secret society, the Xemi, which.partakes of the nature of a religious sect, .and.has ■its headquarters in a Swiss iown.,. to which the young American olfim/, Phil Rowland; a prisoner in Germany, had made his escape. l!y a- curious' coincidence the Ani-erican is held by'l lie brotherhood to 'lie identical with their long expected Chief Priest, and becomes the custodian of the. society's treasure, which is.to be employed in baffling.the schemes of the German.Secret Service. The treasure is stolen by. Germarip. the hero and a yoimjf. lady, 'member of' the Nfemi thereupon following.the thieves into the heart of Ilu.nland, where they becoriie involved in a series of luridly sensational adventures, the story of which is ' set forth , by Iff'.' Gibbs. a welUpras.tisefl hand at'this kiiid of fiction, ivith/a .quite fascinating entrain. The final scene, in whieli the adventurous pair'make their .escape, with,' Wen entendn, the treasure, in a niotbrboat across a- lake and reach Swiss soil in safety, would make'thb fortune of a kinema drama. Mr. Hibbs has written, a full-blooded . romance, which, improbable though, -be. certain of its incidents, cau be recommended'as a ■certain dispeller ot"ennui. . ' ' '■

"Children of the Dear Cotswplds,!' by Mrs: T/. Allen Marker !..'lohn Murray, per Whitconvbe and Tombs)', Is a collection (if short stories and sketches of rural life, in one of the most picturesquely beautiful parts of Gloucestershire, lire. Harker waxes enthnsiastic over the "fine sweet air" of the Cols wolds and the' quaiiitiiess of-the placenames—.Maiseniore.Jlartpiiyy, Lassiiifiton, Colne .St. Stephens, Vretherne, and 'Itensterworth—which, as she says, "chime ii. the cap of tho=e that love them like a lieal of mellow old bells."' The Cntswold people, of whom the author writes, are simple, humble folks, and there is a distinct and compelling charm nbout the stories Mrs.lllarker has lo" toll of their pleasant homely humour, (heir quaint Old World customs, the little comedies and tragedies of the village life. As all who remember that delightful book, "lliss Ksperance and Mr. Wycherioy," will testify, the author possesses a special gift of quiet humour, and in her latest lwok this finds pectilifirly successful exposition.''.:..',

'■"The Master of the Moose Horn," \>f Theodore Good ridge lioberis (Hoiidor ami Sloughton), . ■ Is a collection of short stories illustrative ol' the rough, simple life of the trappers, hunters, and lumbermen .of New BruiiMvifk rind the far ■ north of the American Enelern State?. The title story, which relates how a mined Now Yorker

finds health,.wealth,, plus.a.very charming wife, in -the wild lake and forest region wherein ;\ relative had left -liini- 0..-iiiiiill e.-late, is a. model of good sl.<>ry-telling. Jii "The Kunaway?" <\nd "The Amateur liuida". the. leading oliarnclcrs are city people who <zn to the wild north for sport, and ' .find, the whole course of their lives aliore.il by- I lie. exciting adventures in which' (hey become engaged. There is a line, swing about nil Mr. Rolierts's' yarns. Unite..ajwr.t from their rmuaulic interest the stories ;;ivc a series of. most intere.-ninp;-pictures; of life in the' wild region, wherein their scenes are cast.

"the Book of Ethel, , . , .by Corn lie Sianton anil Heath llosksn (Stanley-'.Paul mid Co.).

.Is tlie life story of a beautiful woman, Lady Klhcl.Drake, whose -. sentimental and 'matrimonial experiences are set fsrth in n series of extracts from the. diary and letters of the heroine. 'Left a largo fortune by a husband she. has never really loved, she cherishes the hops.of meeting ond renewing her old friendship with a another man,'who, however, :s temporarily infatuated with the daughter of her'dead husband's brother. The young lady in (Hie°tion is a decidedly unpleasant , person, ami -before she. finally disappears from the. story nmna.ze? to .involve her husband. th«'heroine, and the heroine's brother, in n vast amount of trouble. The heftiine i<? a highly-strung,.cxcittfiile woman, whose strong paint is certainly not discretion. She end,-..up by marrying the lover <if her youth, but net until she tins undergone some very startling and unlileasant experiences. A readable, if not ;i -very notable, story. ■ ■ ; ■ •■ . ■

"Mary of the Winds."

"Mary of the Winds'' (John Murray, ptr Wiiitcombrf. and. Tombs) is a collection of Irish stories by a writer who udopU the nom-de-pliiine of "Knedeen." The autlioi: .lias Mf'll'iilly utilised, the mvstical traditions which., influence. ..the Irish ueasants of the fiouth and west, traditions Borne of which have been giveii i> poetic, form bv. i'eats, J ohu Stephens, and other Irish writers. There is something very fascnaling in Ijie simple, direct: stylo in ivhich the stories are tolu. Some have a purely faery atmosphere, in others the.mystical flavour is merelv incidental., A note of true pathos-is struck in some, in others there is a pleasant ;n----troduct'on (if unforced humour. The ■etory entitled ".The Farmers' Sons," oml dealing, with live poignant""soirow which Invades a humble home in Kerry', two of whose sons make the supreme saerihce, is a veritable little, lnasterpiecc of restrained .yet forceful -pathos. In nil .the lwenty : une. '] separate stories -or sketches there,is : a iine, outstanding litc'rary quality..." ~ - -,