SOME RECENT FICTION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 235, 28 June 1919, Page 11

SOME RECENT FICTION

"Little Houses.'" ' • j| r. George - Woden's "Little llouses" (Mulimgn and Co.) is a ciirefn!, cqnviiieing ■•study of lit'e in the rather drab and dreary,.milieu in, a provincial mnmtfac- ' tu'ring'" town 'dicing" the - later. . Victorian period. Mr. Woden's characters, some of them, at least,'..remind me a-little of Arnold Bennett's "Five Towns" folk, but tho author spares us. the excess of detail which, though some, of- us would not miss one word of it, detracts, in tho opinion of many readers, from. the. general in-terest-of such a ponderous'throe-decker as "Clayhanger." Mr. -."Bennotto; chief characters nre generally' shopjjespsrs or lower rank professional men and " so forth, Whereas in Mr. Woden's story the leading figures arc workmen, one a model of riuiet, 'plcihUng. industry, comliiendablo thrift and sobriety, with but. li.ttle ambition save ■tlio.Vattninment of permanent comfort;-tho.-other,. a wilder spirit, a born'rebel and'agitator who makes as dismal a mess of things as, the Industrious Apprentice-of the story, is materially successful. ' As a''study -of. a somewhat uar,row .social environment, the

story has decided merit", but some readers "iimy find it a' trifle- tepid, in interest. ' "The Imp." In the innermost soul of Miss Esme Hiltier, the heroine of Mr. Wilson M'Nair's Incest hovel, "The (lloduer uild Stoughtou), ilwelt a mischievous sprite who was everlastingly egging on 1 its uwner to tome mischievous deed, For such a high-spirited, rather huyilenish sou to wed with a Highland laird (rejoicing by the way in I lie extraordinary iiamu ol hiall Tonrntoiini) was a perilims experiment lor Danm Fortune to inflict upon these two young people. For the: laird of Tourntimrci had a very high opinion of his own. dignity and of t lie :respect which all and sundry, including his wife, • should pny to that dignity. Also lie was a mystic given to weird visions in which ilio very matter-of-fact Esine (with .that laughing sprite,. The linn, ever impelling , her to mischief) ' figures as a mysteriously endowed dreamgirl. -A T aturally, the young wife becomes bored well nigh to " deiitll, and seeks solace in various pliilanderiilgs.. But'at bottom the Highland cluettain, despite alt his nHggishness," is' a very good fellow, and the, war comes and proves him to be a trump. Esme's phihiliderings have almost tragic consequences,' but in the;.end. husband and wife are brought together amiin in a real and let u's .trust permanent bond of love, though'it is to.be hoped that Esme. ended by keeping lier "imp" under severe control. Practical' jokes are a.silly business at liny time, but.to stick mustard leaves inside a Prime Minister's shirt 'iffsurely- going a. trifle too fill'. Mr'.'M'Nair's dialogue is crisn and clever, and the local'colour "of the "Highland scenes pleasantly picturesque. Seme Australian Yarns. "Red Mountain," by Jack M'Laren (N.S:\V-. Bookstall Co.) is a full-blooded, vigorously-written yarn of adventure hi the Territory of Australia. is liberally provided with sensation, for ■in addition to the wrecking of'an intercolonial steamer, there is isome hard -fighting wilh.envage.'blacks, a Malay curse which' works out .with deadly, effect upon certain of the characters, and the discovery of a mountain of pure copper of fabulous ■ wealth. ... ;.

Vrom the saine publishers come two other recent, accessions 'to the highlysuccessful Bookstall Series, namely, "The Squatter's Ward," by Edward S. Sprenson, and "The Coral Queeu," by Beatrioo' Grimshaw. Jlr. Sorenson knows the 'Australian' bush 'anil bush life as. few other Australian writers know it, and. although his story is mainly, intended as a feast for the" epicure of sensation,- his local colour is much nearer the real thine than in so many latter-day ' so-called 'stories of. Australian' up-country life. Miss Beak rfce Grimshaw'long ago proved-herself a skilled producer of virile and entertaining fiction, and she is never more readable than when her stories have New Guinea for their background. There is a specially generous supply of • exciting incidents in her latest yarn, "The Coral Queen," in which a priceless necklet of rose-coloured, diamond-bordered coral plays the part of magnet',: find is responsible-for plunging several of the leading figures in the story into a .well-nigh : endless - succession of sensation-packed adventures.. AH these books uru specially- suitable for railway or steamer, journey reading. ■