BOOK REVIEWS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 217, 9 June 1943, Page 3

BOOK REVIEWS

An Irish Champion Of

Freedom

“Lord Edward,” by Magdalen KingHall (London : Peter Davies). Magdalen King-Hall follows up her novel ‘Lady Sarah” with this story of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who was a nephew of Lady Sarah Lennox. There is little of eighteenth century’ Ireland with which the author is not familiar, and she builds a very’ readable story about the life of one of Ireland’s most dramatic historical There is nothing dramatic about this novel, however, for the author has chosen to tell the tale in very quiet vein, dwelling for the most part on the family life of the central character. Lord Edward, a younger son of ithe Duke of .Leinster, and grandson, through his mother, of the Duke of Richmond, belonged to such an illustrious Irish family, that many of the names mentioned within the family circle are historical personages. Charles Fox was a cousin, and during one of the election campaigns Lord Edward helped the beautiful Duchess of Devonshire to canvass for him. It was .a colourful period, but a ‘period when the woes of Ireland were at their height. As a child, Lord Edward spent several years in France. He was destined for a military’ career and fought against the colonists in the War of American Independence, but thereafter realized his mistake and ranged himself on the side of liberalism. He was much inspired by the French Revolution and hoped that Ireland would some day gain freedom for herself. His liberal leanings finally ruined a promising military career, because in those days high promotion, in spite of the fact that it could be bought, implied supporting the Government. After his marriage to a charming French girl, whose parentage was a mystery, he settled in Ireland and made comparatively’ few trips abroad. He felt Ireland’s wrongs with "the passion of a warm and impulsive nature, but his honesty and ingenuousness, his total inability to deceive, were a decided handicap to tqe United Irishmen, an organization which at last accepted him as a member. The tragedy and violence which cut short his life and the lives of many of his fellow conspirators was in no small part due to the fact that he thought all whom he made confidantes were as honest and loyal to their cause at he was himself. Lord Edward owned a personality which captured the popular imagination. He was good looking, ’ with a great charm of manner and genuinely kind feelings toward mankind. It was his misfortune that, adoring husband and devoted son as he was, he was caught up in a rebellion which could only end in tragedy. He was neither rebel nor leader of men, by nature, but with his love of justice and his impulsiveness he could not help supporting the cause of freedom. “Mildensee,” a Romance by Naomi Royde Smith (London: Macmillan). The town of Mildensee, which Miss Royde Smith has previously used as the setting for a novel, forms an ideal background for a romance of the type she has now written. Its clear-cut simplicity, its musical and scholarly atmosphere and the soft veil it draws over anything harsh and sordid are all exactly right for a nostalgic tale. It is the story of a great woman violinist looking backward over 40 years or more to her student days in 'Mildensee, where she emerged from dreary childhood to gracious living and a prospect of future happiness which eventually slipped from her grasp, the empty consolation being world fame as a player. .Something is lacking in the characterization of the story, so that one never gets a really clear picture of the principal figure. Miss Royde Smith, however,, is an accomplished novelist and any failing in that respect is compensated for by her fine constructive and narrative ability. “Murder at 13 Haining Street,” a poem by Robert Solway (Wellington: Stewart, Lawrence Ltd.). The murder occurred in 1905 when Lionel Terry, a strange, unstable character, shot dead an inoffensive Chinese. This apparently motiveless crime provides the basis for Mr. Solway’s poem, in which an attempt is made to relate the significance of Terry’s act to the present Pacific conflict. However, China being our ally, it is difficult to follow the argument and "the poem suffers accordingly. The author sets for himself a high standard and. though he does not maintain it. his writing, always sincere, improves with each effort. The poem is' well printed and produced.