LITERARY CORNER

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 390, 26 November 1932, Page 3

LITERARY CORNER

r "Armchair.')

RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

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A hook which arrives very appropriately with approaching Christmas is "Good Afternoon Children," a collection of wireless stories edited by Columbus, the' well-known British broadcaster. He has taken the pick of the four o'clock tales sent out to the juvenile listeners in and obtained the help of his friend Morton Sale to do the illustrating work. The result of their combined efforts is a really charming and clever volume. The familiar charactersj of the tales — the dragons, princesses, policemen, mayors and coachmen— are introduced with such a delicate touch of humour that even mature minds find themselves following the adventures with the zest of bygone days. . Stories are included from the pens of S. G. Hulme-Bea-man, Arthur Davenport, Tony Galloday, Carey Grey, C. E. Hodges, L. Lu Garde Peach, Mabel Marlowe, Norman Hunter and Ralph de Rohan. It is a hook which will bring delight to' the heart of every juvenile possessor. It is published by Hodder and Stoughton, London. "Rabhit's Paw," by Selwyn Jepson, Hodaer and Stoughton, London. In this book the author pursues the haekneyed theme of the amateur detective and the murder at the country house. A modern touch is given to the tale by bringing into the plot a scientific theory in which it is held that by feeding certain elements to man or beast their natures and physical conditions can be changed. The villain tries the experiment on his brother, and double murders result. The brainy amateur detective then comes on the scene and we have the usual stupid policeman, dark cypress groves, anxious lovers and arrests which no policeman would ever dream of. However, the heroine is saved from a murder trial, the detective covers himself with intellectual glory, and the villain conveniently pulls down the curtain as he dashes to death over a cliff. It is just a story. Some people may mildly enjoy it. No one will remember it. "Letters to Teg," by Patrick Adam; Hodder and Stoughton, London. — Brevity and malice are boon companions and as a rule mueh to the fore in modern books. But here we have an entirely different vein in the writings of Patrick Adam, a young and promising authoress of sixteen whom one feels is a real discovery with' her amusing and chatty "Letters to Teg." They describe the tale of Teg's daughter in search of sophistication, and are full of all her delightful experiences, related in the most natural and appealing manner. Clever and expressive sketches drawn by the authoress herself accompany each letter, adding more vividly to the deseriptive adventures she relates. Her' handling of an anticlimax is to bq warmly commended; for the sheer love of description she works her story up to the most thrilling heights, and then lets it fall with an amusing thud — all the colour and excitement ebbing in a ridiculous anticlimax. For a light and charming book, choose "Letters to Teg." "The Endless Story,-- by "Taffrail." In this, his latest work, the fascinatingi blue water author does not present a novel of the sea, but it is, nevertheless, a tale of naval adventure which grips and holds the attention of the reader. In addition to providing a highly readable book, however, "Taffrail" presents a work of high educational value as app-lied to the understanding of modern naval warfare. He not only gives thrilling descriptions of the great naval engagements of the late war, but leaves also a valuable technical reeord of the maneouvres followed out by the different classes of ships engaged. He writes mainly from the destroyer outlook, and he is able to show in his own lucid nautieal style what an important part these craft played in the war. The wild dashes at top speed, fierce battles and dreary convoy work are all portrayed in a manner which cannot fail to make men fond of ships and the sea deeply interested in his "Endless Story." Two interesting little .pocket volumes, "Wh'y Worship," by Muriel Lester, and "God and the Listener," a broadcast sermon by Hugh Redwood, should prove acceptable Christmas gifts for friends of a religious turn of mind. They will be found full of pure spiritual thought and helpful guidance. It may be the natural revulsion from a depression-ridden and over-commer-cialised modern world, but there is no doubt that the public is finding an increasingly favourable place for the historcal novel. There is something in the pageantry of other days — in fact, in their very remoteness — that leads ! the straying mind away from the wor- ' ries of to-day. This may account for the undoubtedly high standard which is now being set for the historical novel. A new and very readable addition to the elass ist Carola Oman's novel with the harried but very human figure of the Augusta, Empress Malde, daughter of grim Henry Beauclerc of England, and twin to that illfated Prince William who perished in the wreck of the White Ship, as its heroine. Married at the incredible age of eight to th'e sickly nd ponderous Emperor of Rome, this unfortunate lady developed as perhaps no other child has ever developed. At a time "when the normal child it still a hoyden, Malde was consort to a man of vast dominions, ;and daughter of the most scheming prince in Christendom. The ordinary delights of ehildhood and adolescence were denied her and surrounded by the pomp of courts and circumstance, she fulfilled her high and unhappy destiny. The death of her Emperor husband made her again a pawn in the hands of her father, who forthwith married her again to the youthful Geoffrey of Anjou. This second loveless marriage and the development of her one "grande passion" for the upstart earl who later became the usurper Stephen, King of England, are well portrayed. The gradual development of this daughter of princes and her fight to establish the rights of her son to the succession, although historically imaginatiVe, make an extremely readable tale. There is no glossing over of Ihe- spngikitiHog nf

princes and the nobles of the days of Stephen are shown as scheming, jeolous men, afraid of the heavy hand of the Lion of Justice, but after his death ready to plunge England into the turmoil of civil war for their own aggrandisement. — The Empress, Carola Oman; Hodder and Stoughton. 7/6. "Por Sinners Only, by A. J. Russell; Hodder and Stoughton. 5/- nett. One of the most discussed movements of.recent times, the religious revival — for lack of a better word — of the Oxford group is the subject of a book produced by A. J. Russell, until recently literary editor of one of London's greatest dailies. Mr. Russell has given his book the stimulating tilte "For Sinners Only," and as a sincere and frank exposition of the aims and progress of the Oxford movement, it is undoubtedly a eontribution. Oxford, as Mr. Russell points out, has been !the originating point of many revivals, religious and intellectual, but it has produced nothing more remarkable than the movement which has been proselytised by University men and women to revitalise, not so much the Church as Christianity. The universities have been held as the breeding ground of the intellectual unbeliever, the agnostic and the scientific dissentient, but it has been left to Oxford to give birth in this twentieth century of unbelief to a movement which has recruited converts from all quarters and classes of society. The men and women of the Oxford group movement do not seek any evangelical frenzy or expound any abstruse doctrine; their ereed is simplicity, trust and above allf faith. They seek to cut back the smothering undergrowth of dogma and doctrine which has sprung up around the first simple teachings of Christ and with courage to expound them to a sceptical and chiding world. The movement has spread with remarkable activity at Home .and now includes among its i converts some of the most outstanding leaders of lay and clerieal thought. Reading Mr. Russell's book one can perceive the journalist even behind the sincere convert. His first introduction to the Oxford movement,, as he frankly admits, was as a go.od "frontpage story," and throughout his investigations and his eontacts with the members of the movement, the nose of the good journalist for a good story is apparent. But Mr. Russell is quite frank .about it and his book carries the imprint of sincerity. The Oxford movement is something which may come to stand wtih the historical revivals of English history; it is certainly a proof that even in this twentieth century, faith still prevails. This book is decidedly stimulating and well worth reading.