NEW BOOKS

Evening Star, Issue 21748, 16 June 1934, Page 21

NEW BOOKS

PAGE FROM LONDON'S HISTORY Ladies in London .in the reign of Henry VI. shaved their eyebrows, and their waists could be spanned by 'a man’s hand. This is only one small fact taken at random from one of the most fascinating historical novels that has come from the press in recent months. ‘ London Bridge is Falling,’ by Philip Lindsay, is a page from London’s history. Mr Lindsay has delved deep into the past, and has made a point of being exact to the last historical detail. This in itself must have been a monumental task. Then to weave a story, from what lie had gathered is another achievement, so it is not surprising that the London Book Society recommends it as a novel to read. Right from the first page we are introduced to early London, with its hovels and mansions, gallants and apprentices, open drains and spiced baths. There wero_ houses and shops on London Bridge in those days,_ and the story deals with _ the people living in those strangely-situated dwellings, the merry days and the merrier nights, upon the bridge—that wonder of the world, stretching above the thundering Thames, linking English earth to English earth —and-finally Jack Cade’s rebellion and the bloody and deadly battle on the bridge. The author calls it rather a “ street scene ” of the midfifteenth century, and he certainly succeeds in making the reader not only see those times, but feel sympathy and understanding for the men and women who helped to create England, and to make it a power unknown since the days of the Romans. We do not read of kings and noblemen, but of tradesmen and _ merchants, of the burgher class, their rising to power, the way they lived, the clothes they wore, and the food they ate, their loves, their hatreds, and their fears. There are 448 pages of pure delight. Messrs Ivor Nicholson and Watson (London) are the publishers.

‘ INTERNATIONAL Oil MAN 1 One of the world’s most amazing men of commerce is Sir Henri Deterding, whose history, principles, and aims are concisely related by himself in ‘ An International Oil Man,’ just published by Messrs Ivor, Nicholson, and Watson Ltd. Born in Amsterdam in 1866, the fourth of a family of fire, he joined the Twentscho Bank when he was sixteen, and his family was pressed. Ho was top of the candidates examined for posts with the Netherlands Trading Company in the Dutch East Indies. He quickly made a name with _ the company, but, as he felt that his services were not fully recognised, he resigned in 1896 to join the Royal Dutch Oil Company. At that period the oil company was a small organisation and its greatest competitor in the East was the Standard Oil Company. When Mr G. B. A. Kessler died in 190(3, Deterding was appointed managing director. The company expanded until its ramifications are to-day woi'ld-wide. He worked for co-operation among the oil companies, at all times condemning pricecutting as suicidal. He negotiated the formation of Asiatic Petroleum Limited and Venezuela Oil Concessions Limited. Deterding has been a big figure in the oil game. He later tackled Standard Oil on its own territory, the United States, and succeeded. He describes the _ Soviet as a set of “ bluffing bullies,” holding that the Soviet needs the markets of other countries infinitely more than the other countries need the Soviet as an outlet. He is an advocate of big business corporations as being the only means of shouldering the burdens and risks of running the more colossal of the bigger industries. He believes that the present rate of income tax in both England and America is a clog to human progress; yet ho favours high death duties, as the heirs of rich men should not be given too much money for nothing. “ Gold be damned ” is his message to the world as a cure for its ills. Many so-called economists, he declares, would not earn a dollar a day in an ordinary business office. He confesses that he has made failures. “If I did not have a crop of failures in my harvest I would indeed be a fool. Every man falls sometimes, unless he wraps himself in cotton wool and evades all responsibility.” His fundamental principle has been simplicity, as he considers that only the small man has time to be complex. No worth-while job was easy at its beginning, but he found assistance from strenuous bouts of outdoor physical Sir Henri has a dictatorial law which he urges all nations to adopt. He would shoot all idlers. ‘An International Oil Man ’ is an arresting history of a great personality, the leader of perhaps the greatest combination of companies in the world.

’ T«r FIGHTING CAMELIERS ’ Less has probably been heard of the adventures and service of the Imperial Camel Corps than of most units of the British Army in the Great War, and for that reason it is particularly' interesting to receive a copy of ‘ The Fighting Cameliers,’ written by Frank Reid and published by Messrs Angus and Robertson. Sydney. The Camel Corps was Imperial in every sense of the word, for it was composed of* British, Australian, New Zealand, and Indian details from practically every unit of the army. Mr Reid, who is known as “ Bowyang Bill ” in a number of Australian publications, has given a graphic account of the part played by the Camel Corps in the Palestine campaign, in which _ it did valuable work in assisting to drive back the Turk. As Brigadier A. J. Mills, D. 5.0., says in a foreword: “In his bright, breezy, readable narrative Mr Reid, besides recording much that is history, has caught the happy-go-lucky-don’t-care-a-damn air that pervaded the battalions. In, addition he has lifted a veil which has hung over the Imperial Came! Corps for nearly twenty years. For that all cameliers will thank him.” The author provides vivid accounts of the numerous actions in which the cameliers shared. The book is written by' one who shared m most of tho fighting, and is one of the best soldiers’ books of the war to be .found. Incidentally, the author pays a tribute to the gallantry of New Zealanders, of whom there were two companies in the Camel Corps.

STUDY IN RACIAL COMPLEX The difficulties of a son of an English father and a German mother who fought in the Great War enter into and play a large part in the story of ‘ Mongrel,’ by Spencer Watts. Born in Germany at a time \.hcn the Prussian element was rising on an anti-British wave, Peter Seymour is later educated in England, where the stigma of his German extraction attaches. ’ He has a proud war record, but when it was suggested that he should be decorated the staff officer remarked that' they would next be sending the Military Medal to Hindenburg. The war over, he succeeds in business, but real romance does not enter his life until too late. ‘ Mongrel ’ is an interesting study of racial complex, and Mr Watts’s'characters are live persons. The story is simply told, little attempt being made by the author to obtain high dramatic effect. The novel is published by Messrs Elkin, Mathews, and Marrot. ’JEWELS GO BACK ' Mr E. Charles Vivian, author of ' Jewels Go:Back,’ writes an entertaining story; and his latest book is no exception to the rule. There is a violent death in ‘Jewels Go Back,’ and some dirty work at the cross-roads generally, but this novel is more than a mystery tale; The author possesses a sense of humour. He has the power of characterisation and a knowledge and a love of the English countryside. The chief character, the successful and. in some respects remorseless and' unscrupulous industrialist and financier, is admirably portrayed. The publishers of ‘ Jewels Go Back ’ are Ward, Lock, and Co. Ltd.