A NEW ZEALAND STORY

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 16, 19 January 1924, Page 17

A NEW ZEALAND STORY

"The ' Family." By Isabel ■:. Pejcbckey ; vLondon : Ward, Lock, ;.. - t adfl Company, .Ltd.. : ".' Misjf Isabel M. Peacocke,' who has already produced quite a number of light'and. pleasant stories with a New Zealarjd setting, has now added, another to ,heX formidable : list. In reviewing ,this novel, entitled "The Adopted Family, ",,the-London correspondent of "The Post" remarks: "There is no mystic ■meaning about the,title. It is just the story'of a'handful of: children which a . bachelor farmer has gathered into his I household from widowed sisters; careless friends, and even from a.Maori settlement'in the vicinity 6f his'run. Lead.er amoi}g these, and indeed leader of ■ all the boys of the .countryside, is Deirdre, daughter of an irresponsible irishman and/a touring singer. 'Michael ■ Rivers, the farmer, offers to take the j little daughter of his friend, O'Neill. and give her some respite- from the un- ; healthy touring life. The story opens wh'en the child is tricked by her father into boarding the train to Riversdale with Michael. She goes broken-hearted toiher new:fiome, but a week or two of I the-healthy, life on -the station makes a new child of^her: ' She'becomes the chieftainess'..'of 'all the. adventurous spirits of the neighbourhood, and the I tale of many a Saturday's adventures in th&hills and bush country, is hot'only good reading for'children, ts if is'1 intended to (be, but because of its freshness of .outlook, should hold the ■ attention .of.many, adult readers as well. One of'.thij" greatest .adventures deals with Deirdre's, "unintentional, exploration of a great "stalactite, cave, in. which she loses herself, but is finally rescued through the .outlet of the underground river. vlt is all very-thrilling,.. and well .within the region of possibility. There' are quit© a . number of - healthy. sporting lads in-tKe1 story, arid one who lacks ,the: true •'spirit, of the ...clan .. is eventually.reformed by the little chief.taihess, j There is a certain amountof healthy^ pathos throughout the' volume. The authoress handles her scenery and setting ivery cleverly','and there will/be many readers who -"will doubtless,, consider that Miss Peacocke does greater justice, tpi.sh^r^elf,;;jn >: thjs,.)'sto%.;'pf 'ad'venttiFoug^bnila4Jfe'W;thari>iff- -lh'er»'j'romances. .- She has given, a.very': true picture of New Zealand country, life, besides ' including some ..qfj: those- adventures .which;might 6;6e;ur qnly once' in a lifetime.- For instance,- 'she uses the floods of a year ago'for the action of two or three of the most exciting chapters: