LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 269, 9 August 1919, Page 11

LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

Miss "S. Q. Tallentyre," whose studies of French literature, especially of Voltairo, are so much esteemed, has written a novel, "Love Laughs Last," which is described as a delightful comedy of Arictoriau times. The fact that ao-ino of "Miss Tallontyro's" books are signod "Stephen Georgo Tallentyre" must be rather baffling to librarians and cataloguers, but tho' author is none the less of (he feminine sex. The prices realised at certain recent sales of rare books and manuscripts at tho famous London auction rooms of Sotheby's aro' positively staggering. • At a sale of twenty-eight MSS. and two printed books from tho Yates Thompson collection, early in Jmie, the total amount realised was A' 52,100! Tho MSS. wore, of course, beautifully illuminated. Tho top price was brought by a "Book of Hours" of Jeanne 11, "Queen of Navarre." It is interesting to recall the fact that this particular manuscript was' purchased by Lord Asliburnham in 1847 for 70 guineas! "Tho Times" booksales oxport says it was probably bought by Mr. -Yates Thompson, with several other MSS. en bloo, from Lord Ashburnhnm—"possibly .£IOOO would be somewhere near the mark." It now realised no less than JSILSfIO! The purchaser's name is not given, but no doubt it was bought on commission for somo Amorican millionaire. I Tho part played by Jewish soldiers on I the side of the Allies is to be tho subject of a book by tho Rev. Michael Adlcr, D.5.0., senior chaplain to the Jewish forces, entitled "The Jews and Tl»cir Work for the Empire." Hodder and Stoiigliton will publish the work. A new" collection of short stories by Richard Dp'kui (Miss Clo. Graves), entitled "A Sailor's Home," is announced for curly publication. That clever writer, Neil Lyons, is at his best. I always think, in his short stories, as in "Arthur's," "Clara," and the delightful "Cottage Pie." but reviewers speak well, I notice, of a new long story of Cockney life and character from his pen, "A London Lot." Recently a writer of one of those excellent first-page articles in "The Times" Literary Supplement, which are such an nUructivo feature of that periodical, asked: "Can. anybody rend "The Blr,ck Arrow' after he has grown up? Canjinyono stop before tho last pago of 'Kidnapped'? There- is kho contrast in a ! singlo author." Tho remark hiiß, I 6oe, I broue-ht forth, a 6toul; defence of "TJio

Black Arrow" from so good a jwlgo of historical fiction as Mr. Georgo M. Tievelyan. Whilst admitting that "Kidnapped" is much tho better book, Alan Brock is enough to mako tho fame of any novel. Mr. Trovelyan tells us that ho has read "Tlio Black Arrow" "at least once every three years sinco he has grown up," aiid hopes to do so till ho dies. Whore it is specially inferior to "Kidnapped" is in iis being written in a literary "antic" tongue, which Stevenson •himself condemned when ho was using it under the name of "Tushery." U.L.S. did not know tlio tonj;uo spoken by tlio English in tho fifteenth century, whereas m ''Kidnapped" he was .thoroughly at home in speech and hackground. But Mr. Trovelyan vouches for the historical colour of "Tho Black Arrow" as being wonderfully correct. The June "Bookman" (Hodder and Stoughton) contains an excellent article on Charles Kingsley. by Mr. R. Ellis lioberts. It is fully illustrated with portraits of Kingsley and his friends and photographs of places associated with him. Those of my readers who are interested in tho author of "Westward Ho" (whose centenary was celebrated early in June) 6hould make a point of reading an exceptionally fino article on KingsW and his work which appears in "Tho Times" Literary Supplement (June 12). It is a delightful article, in which stress is laid as much on Kingsley's charming personality as on the fino quality of much of his work.

Stray Leaves. Sir Itidcr Haggard says that ho was intended for a legal career, but that the success of his "King Solomon's Mines" ruined his career at the Bar. Tho story was written, ho says, to win a bet made with his brother. He casually made the wager to show that it would bo possible for somebody else to writo a story as good and 'ns popular as Stevenson's "Treasure Island.'' Haggard still writes stories, but.he lias never bettered "King Solomon's Mines," in which, it may be remembered, our old friend, Allan Quavtormain, first made his appearance. lu. the courso of one of his London letters to the New York "Sun," Mr. Hugh Walpole says that the rage for poetry, which was such a curious literary feature of. the war period, has practically died out. Fiction, especially of a light and cheerful description, is now in first favour. As for most of the new war books they are said to be quite unsaleable, but, of couTse, there aro notable exceptions.

William .T. Locke lias been telling an English interviewer how lie came to vrito "The Rough Road." Ho had boon worryins over his seeming; inability to find a subject for a now story. "The lied Planet" had been finished a couple a! months previously when his wife, playing with her littio Pekinese, said: ''Why doesn't he write, a nice book about you, my net?" Whereupon, says tho novelist, "I clapped ray hand to 'my ''orehead and cried: 'I will, I'll write a story about a man brought up like that damn dog,'and pitched into the war.' I went straight [to my study and set to work on the scheme." The result was the creation of "Doggie" Trevor. Mr. Locko tells us that tho rescuing of Jeamm's fortune- from th-s w-ell in "No Man's Land" was founded upon an actual episode in the ,w, the only divergence from reality being that "Doggie-" was wounded, whereat) the/ Tommy who was the original of the opi-l sodo got through without a scratch. 1 Apropos to tho celebration on .Tune 2 of Sir. Thomas Hardy's seventy-iniifli birthday, it la interesting to note a little autobiographical memorandum which appears under the poet-novelist's nam<> in "Who's"Who?": "Wrote verses, 18G0-M8; had to drop verse for prose about 18G8, 'but resumed it Inter." To most of Hardy is tho novelist who gave us "Far From'tlio Madding Crowd" and "Toss of tho D'TJrbervilles" a-nd so many otk-r fine stories of that Wessex which the author loves so well. But poetry; is bis last lovo as it was his first, and if only by that splendid epic "Tho .Dynasts/" Hardy's name would bo well worth a high place'i,n the history of English literature, even had he never written one of tho many novels- by which he is and must be best known. "Blind Alley." Mr. W. L. George is admittedly in. the front rank of the younger English novelists of the day. Hiß "Making ol an Englishman" and "Tho Second Blooming" both displayed im almost uucanny cleverness in their analyses of human, especially feminino human, emotious and passions.' Tho author is partly of Gallic extraction and training, and his fiction stylo frequently reflects that clarity and

logical forco which add such distinction to tho bettor class of French fiction. "ISliml Alley" (T. fisher Unwin) is llr. Georgo's war story, a war story almost, if not <|uite, as notable a production as was Mr. Wells's "Mr. Drilling Sees It Through" or Mr. Arnold Bennett's "Tho Pretty Lady." Its dominant note, however, is very different from cither, being that of an extreme pessimism. In the closing chapter the author puts an extraordinary jeremiad into tho mouth of his principal character, Sir Hugh Oakley, ft prosperous country banker, who does war work during the great struggle. Sir Hugh looks round (in January, 1019) in vain for some new and promising prospect of social the war is over. Ko "open road," no prospect of real and satisfying peace and happiness for the world is discernible. Everywhere Oakley sees only the "blind alley":

Blind alley in the debt., so enormous that it conhl not he paid; blind alloy in the chaos of the churches, whose ship was pitching; blind alley in tho schools, where tho old culture was being pulled down, though nohody knew what to put up inBtead; blind alley in the law, which let off one soldier .for shooting his wife's loveri and gavo another five years; blind alley in the rißins cry for greater population, balanced hy the obsf.-ina.ta refusal of tho State to give the illegitimate a status; blind alley iu liberty now that letters wcro opened and the Press censored, meetings supervised and political pamphlets .officially garbled; Wind alley for those who eamo back, maimod, fit for half work.

A pretty miserable look-out, it must be confessed, but truth to tell, those.-who have read tho book will, I think,, have como to tho conclusion that Sir Hugh is neither n very good judge of passing events and temporary influences, nor to lie regarded as a safo and sound prophet. Mr. Georgo shows him to bo n man of vacillations. Tho author h severely satirical upon Lady Oakley's perferv'id,. almost hysterical patriotism, but at least there is this to be said for her, that she believes in her country, in the right and justice of her country's cause, and, according to her own lights, works to secure a victory of which she nover despairs. The husband, on the other hand, is a pitiful wobbler. At first he regards the-war as inevitable, though inwardly chafing against tho disturbance of his life's ease and luxury. Then ho becomes disgusted with the politicians, and rails at them rather than lends a hand to brin? about an improvement. In tho third phase (at tho time of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty) ho be-comes'-actually pro-German—it might bo: Mr. Arthur Henderson or liamsay Mac-. . Donald who is. • talking—and finally after disillusionment «3 lo tho raal game played by Germany fn connection with the treaty, and a reversion to the belief in the cause of the Allies as a losser evil, he ends by a cowardly acceptance of tho principle that only complete revolution can change the world for tho belter. Pessimism indeed 'seems to rim riot in the Oakley .family—amongst the men—for Stephen Oakley, .Sir Hugh's son, writes from tho iront after the death of a friend: "Quirt's gone. Doesn't nmttorif it's Heaven or Hell, it'll be an improvement. Damn the world. I hope- '. to have a hand in blowing it up when this job's done." Mr. Georgo is clearly a pacifist, a pacifist at any price. In presenting his theories on war he is apt to become quite acidulous, even venomous. It is, however, to his wilful drenching of his .story with sex ugliness that I would take most severe objection. England would surely be in fact in a stato of moral rottenness—which I for one point blank rol'use to believe she is— were Mr. George's pictures of lifo during the war period io be accepted as truo in their repellent realism. The war may have been responsible for such hideous, examples of moral perversion as Sylvia and iiionioa Oakley, but tluse are, 1 trust' and believe, the exceptions rather than tho rule. They cannot be accoptwl as typical, save only of a thrice-con-temptible minority, and to present such characters as types is to slander English womanhood. Pacifism may be capable of logical argument, but; such a ulory as this of Mr. Georgo's, brilliantly clever as it may' be, and undoubtedly is m many ways, is surety a wrong-headed, unfair presentment of society as affected by war. Mr. Georgo is a very clever writer, but his last novel, which, by the way, so a publisher's "puff" informs us, tho author considers his "best work vei published," loaves almost as nasty a taste in the mouth 1 as did the notorious "lied of Itoses."