NEW BOOKS

Evening Star, Issue 22460, 3 October 1936, Page 23

NEW BOOKS

• THE HUNTED' “ The characters in this story are fictional, the raw material was real,” explains Mr J. A. Lee in the preface to his new book, ‘ The Hunted,’ which is a sequel to ‘ Children of the Poor.’ The explanation is worth noting. It leaves loss room for the suspicion that, in writing as he does, Mr Lee is indulging the impulse which he attributes to his hero on an early page: “ The victim was able to become the exhibitionist, and extract a little glory from the sum of his misfortunes.” This 'although Mr Lee also tells us in his preface: “1 am glad 1 have been a thief and a fugitive from justice, tor being all these 1 acquired early a with the pursued.” Though it does not reach the furthest extreme of squalor of its predecessor, this is a painful book, w(th as much claim to be called a novel as a host of other stories of the road which have no development, yet, consisting of one incident after another, never cease to grip the attention. It is to Mr Lee’s credit as a writer that his incidents do' not fail to thrill, though, in essence and inevitably, they differ very little from one another. The book describes four attempts at escape made by the boy rebel and officially esteemed “crook,” Albany Porccllo, from the former industrial school at Burnham, Canterbury; his life between whiles in that unattractive institution; later experiences jn the imaginary village of Troonville, Otago, where he was hired out to a grocer;. and his escape from a life which ho found there as much a prison. Burnham in the early days of this century, as Mr Lee describes it, was not without' its resemblances to Marcus Clarke’s Port Arthur. The manager, w r e are told, was “ kind hearted,” he was “ not such a bad sort.” The judgment is charitable, in view of the acts which he is credited with tolerating. A lust of cruelty inspired the floggings of his assistant, Henderson. As those are described it becomes a wonder why they wore never followed by an inquest instead of by neiv escapes. Porcello was unlucky in the mentors and guardians he encountered. The sergeant-major, Snade and’ the sanctimonious grocer are as odious as Henderson! The xhnp-' ; 4hhT’-‘M.scribe:tth ,^vb6y, S ; .- ifuAsuits' and vagabondage are brilliantly written. “ God bless us. everyone,’’."was Tiny Tim’s prayer. “ God pit y "all of us,” might be the feeling most naturally prompted by Mr Lee’s volume. T. Werner Laurie Ltd., London, publisher.

1 ANNE OF WINDY WILLOWS • ‘ Anne of Green Gables,’ by Miss L. M. Montgomery, lias been a best seller since 1908. Anne Shirley appears once more in ‘ Anne of Windy Willows,’ which has been written in answer to many requests that this character should appear again. It has been chosen by the London ‘ Daily Mirror ’ as the romantic book of the. month for August. The recent film of ‘ Anne of Green Gables' stimulated public interest so much that during 1935 no fewer than 25,000 copies or the book were sold in the British Empire alone—with an additional 10,000 copies in the first half of the present, year. And each of the other four “ Anne ” books— ‘ Anne of Avonlea,’ ‘ Anne of the Island,’ ‘ Chronicles of Avonlea,’ and ‘ Anne’s House of Dreams ’ regularly sells several thousand copies a year. In the latest book Anne comes to Summerside to take an appointment. The Pringles and “ half-Pringles ” dominate this small place, and as Anne was preferred to one of the clan when the choice was made it can bo imagined that for her trouble was in the offing. Anne’s courage, buoyant spirits, and sense of humour prevailed. One of the notable characters in the book, Rebecca Dew, says; “ I never did sec the best of you, Miss Shirley, for talking people round. You have certainly got a way with you.” This happy, sunshiny story is a welcome change from the morbid, introspective novels that are so much in evidence to-day. It is particularly a woman’s book, but its wisdom, humour, and deft character drawing will also be by men. Our copy of ‘ Anne of Windy Willows ’ is from the publishers (Angus and Robertson, Sydney).

ADVENTURE AND ROMANCE Occasionally there comes to hand a novel that contains the necessary ingredients for a gripping story of adventure and romance, and such a one is ‘Shi]> of the Mist,’ by Hilda Bridges (Messrs Wright and Brown). This is a yarn that the reader will not want to put down until the last page is turned for set under different surroundings to the usual tale of its kind it is vividly told and very well written. The story tells of the trials of a man and a girl who are cast ashore on what is to all intents and purposes an uninhabited island. They are there for some time before they learn that the island _ also harbours another woman, a hideous old crone, who has grown old before her time through being left to languish on the island for many years with only her deformed son as a companion. The writer presents an interesting study in her delineation of the old woman. Aspects of her character arc in marked contrast. There is her maniacal desire to get rid of the man so that the girl will be left to ensure the care of her son should the old woman die. On the other hand, the love she has for her crippled hov is beautiful. There arc many thrilling situations, and some tinged with pathos, especially iviicii the marooned man and girl are about to ho rescued, and the crippled boy meets with fatal injuries in his efloris to prevent them from lining injured. Our copy conies from the publishers.

1 THE BIBLE AND MODERN SCIENCE * One of the best signs of the times, declares Dr Harold C. Morton, is the increase in the number of books demonstrating the trustworthiness of the Bible. This remark was called forth in writing an introduction to * The Bible and Modern Science.’ by L. Merson Davies. We might add that one of the peculiar features of this championship of the old Book is that much of it is being done, not by clerics, but by laymen. When Daniel, and Jonah, and Isaiah were being tormented in the critics’ den it was not clericals, but scientific laymen like Marston, Garstang, and Mac Allister who boldly entered the lists in their defence. And now there is a decided touch of tak-ing-up-arms in the fact that, in ‘ The Bible and Modern Science,’ we iiave a new book by an author whose profession is the art of war; for L. Merson Davies is a lieutenant-colonel, late of the Royal Artillery, whose hobby for science has earned him many degrees and honours. It marks also the new trend whereby that science which used to be the bugbear of Biblical scholarship is now being increasingly appealed to in its defence. No longer is there the rather pathetic endeavour to conciliate and compromise with science, but its most astounding revelations and discoveries are actually found to have their parallels in the sacred Scriptures. The astonishing claim is made that “The Bible waits at the head of the path of scientific progress, to greet the discoverer with its revelation of prior knowledge.” That sentence might be called the keynote of the book under review. It is strikingly reminiscent of another significant and similar claim: “ Whenever science comes to an ultimate truth, instead of a mere halfway supposition, it finds the Bible there before it.”

The three great topics dealt with are the astronomy, the physics, and the biology of the Bible. Suggestive chapter headings are: ‘The Situation of .the . World,’ ‘ Subterranean VVaters and Fires,’ ‘ Creation and Variation,’ ‘ Separate Creations,’ and ‘ The Doctrine of Uniformity.’ The book is brightly written, printed in large, clear type, is copiously furnished with notes, and is published at a cheap price hy Messrs Pickering and Inglis. WEST AFRICAN ADVENTURE Jane’s Way,’ a West African adventure story by A. C. C. Hastings, has many points that will appeal to the inveterate reader of lively fiction. James Allen, a young man in the employ of the British Government in West Africa, is returning to duty when he finds that shipboard routine is being made all the brighter for him by the presence of a fellow passenger, Jane Ford, who is going out alone to the Mandara Hills ,to study African languages and culture for the International Institute. The pair are mutually attracted, but Allen has a deepseated distrust of all women, so that when the boat reaches Lagos they each go their separate ways without arriving at an understanding. Later their work brings them together again. Allen wishes to establish himself as the girl’s rightful protector, but Jane, a self-assured modern girl, wants to be left alone to carry out her work in her own way. The duel between them finishes when a native revolt and personal danger to both paves the way for satisfactory collaboration. The story ends on an exciting note. Messrs Herbert Jenkins are the publishers.

‘ART IN NEW ZEALAND* The September number of ‘ Art in New Zealand ’ naturally devotes considerable space to the opening of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum .in Wellington. The editor says: “The national group may justly bo said to mark the beginning of a new era in New Zealand’s cultural life and activities, ft should help to heighten the popular appreciation of the refining and informing qualities of art, the arts and crafts, and, generally, encourage the growth of an art consciousness, which is an essential part of community life.” The illustrations in this number are particularly interesting. There is one showing the National Art Gallery, Dominion Museum, and War Carillon, on Mount Cook, Wellington. Reproductions of famous paintings, now on view in Wellington, are given. The pictures represented include works by ConConstable and Turner and others who, if not so famous, are notable artists. ‘ The Old Maori Chieftainess is the reproduction of an oil painting by Linley Richardson, R.8.A., and there are some fine examples of the sculpture of W. H. Wright, of Auckland. Poems, stories, and articles on cultural subjects complete a particularly interesting number. PROMISING FIRST NOVEL 1 Clinging Shadows,’ by Main Waring (Andrew Melrose Ltd.), is a very promising first novel, developed on a somewhat different theme. The story tells of a man charged falsely with an offence against a woman. He is convicted and disgraced, and starting life afresh under a new name he is driven from place to place because each time he settles down somhody, discovering his secret, attempts to blackmail him. Me is eventually pushed into public life through a trade grievance, but after exposing the intrigue of local government he is exposed at the moment of success. News from an unsuspected quarter and a chase by aeroplane to Belgium ends the story of a man’s dogged struggle against Fate and a woman’s plucky light for the honour of the man she loves. This is a sound and intelligently written first novel, our copy coming from the publishers.

Mrs Mary Scott, a popular contributor of the ‘ Evening Star ’ and other journals, is publishing, through Messrs Avery and Sons, New Plymouth, a collection of her sketches, which is expected to he on the market immediately.

UNCONVINCING THRILLER James Corbett lias the reputation of being a first-class writer of mystery “thrillers,” but ‘The Death Pool does not come up to some of his previous efforts, this story of international plots and counter-plots to secure a valuable formula being singularly unconvincing. In writing of the strange hypnotic power exerted by a Turkish spy over the beautiful heroine of the piece, the writer descends almost to bathos on occasions, and the seasoned reader of this type of yarn is likely to be somewhat wearied before he reaches the outcome of events which are allowed to drag on far too long. Our copy comes from Uie publishers (Messrs Herbert Jenkins).