BOOKS REVIEWED

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 31, 29 April 1927, Page 10

BOOKS REVIEWED

ANOTHER ANDRE MAUROIS “ "BERNARD Quesnay,” M. Andre Maurois’s latest book, can scarcely be over-praised. It is the work of a mind both powerful and supple. Irony is his weapon, or rather, his instrument; for he does not use it to attack, but to reveal. But who would have thought that the gay ironist of “Ariel” was only one aspect of Andre Maurois? In “Bernard Quesnay” it is an irony more sober, more deeply penetrating, and more, not less, fascinating to watch, which etches the beautifully distinguished characters of the Quesnays and other figures in this sad comedy—the two rival millowners, exchanging memories of money well lost to discomfit each other in their rivalry, the cunning M. Roch, who broke their peaceful and profitable agreement, Antoine, the weaker brother, who was strong enough to break away from business to the love of his wife, Francoise, Bernard, che stronger, who was gradually conquered by it, whose hatred and contempt of the business which would rob life of all he valued in it became by degrees a pride and passion which excluded everything else. This change in Bernard is traced with superb skill, until Bernard follows the body of his grandfather Achille to the graveside, and is himself, Achille, thinking and speaking as it once horrified him that his grandfather should think and speak. The industrial background is admirably drawn, and the helplessness of both sides under the pressure of an economic system stronger than they is particularly well suggested. “Bernard Quesnay,” Andre Maurois. Translated by B. W. Downs. Jonathan Cape. With Nelson Pioneers One of the earliest settlers in Nelson was the late Alfred Fell, who came out to New Zealand in the sailing ship Lord Auckland early in 1542, and in the course of time became a prominent and prosperous merchant. Throughout his voyage from England he kept a diary, and this has now been published with a foreword by one of his sons, Sir Arthur Fell. “A Colonist’s Voyage to New Zealand” merited publication, for it gives a graphic description of Mfe on an emigrant ship in j conditions that can never exist again, and it helps us to an understanding of the men and women who laid the foundations of the Dominion. The book is inexpensive*, but it i 3 wellproduced. "A Colonist’s Voyage to New Zealand: Under Sail in the ‘Early Forties.’ ” Janies Townsend and Sons, Exeter. Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Co., Ltd., London. Our copy from Whitcombe and Tombs, Ltd., Auckland. Ghosts and Marvels A. C. Benson’s last book contains .two stories of the supernatural, under the titles, “Basil Netherby,” and “The Uttermost Farthing.” Both tell of houses haunted by dead evil-doers, of weird apparitions and sensations, worthy indeed of the invention of Poo himself. Under the inspiration of his ghost, Basil Netherby writes “music of evil beauty.” An attempt to save him leads to a tragic end. In the second tale, the malevolence of the spirits on Hebden Hills is averted by the owner’s courage. To quote one of sundry thrills: "A dreadful sight met my eyes, a cavity filled with writiling snakes. Bendyshe plunged his hands into the mass and drew leather

box. ‘This is it,’ he said. But now a still more dreadful thing occurred. Standing beside us, stiff and upright, was a corpse. Then a heavy odour of corruption.” It is enough. The book is not to be recommended for late or lonely reading, but it is written by a master of language. And little landscape sketches here and there are perfectly delightful. “Basil Netherby,” A. C. Benson. Hutchinson. Checkmate For the romancer, the reign of Louis XIV. is a veritable goldmine, providing substance for a hundred novels. He beholds a voluptuous court, engulfed in endless gallantries, intrigues and scandals, a people crushed under the heel of an arrogant aristocracy, ruled by the vainest of kings. In the “Adventures of Monsier de Mailly,” this gentleman adventurer is unwittingly thrown into the midst of a feud, unscrupulous on both sides, between the Minister of Secret Service and the Lieutenant of Police. De Mailly, threatened in turn by the hangman’s rope and the assassin’s steel, not only holds both rivals at bay, but, cool and shrewd always, emerges by clever turns of the screw a man of wealth and high station. Though sometimes straining the reader’s credulity, the story is well told and ingeniously developed. In parts the racy dialogue and repartee of the French style are very suitably adopted. “Adventures of Monsieur de Mailly,” David Lindsay. Melrose. Our copy comes from Angus and Robertson, Ltd. Still Running on Top For many years now E. Phillips Oppenheim has been turning out stories of adventure in the underworld and the haunts of shady foreign politicians. He tells just as good a story, with just as easy-running a plot, in his latest offering, “Madame.” This book is a collection of stories about a mysterious criminal society, and ran in one of the English magazines. If you want to spend a pleasant halfday or so, then “Madame” will entertain you. “Madame.” E. Phillips Oppenheim. Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd., London. Our copy from the publishers’ Sydney agents. Some Old Friends Thanks to novelists like Zane Grey, Rex Beach, Ridgwell Cullum, and half a score of others, we know pretty well all there is to know about the West. The “towering red walls of the canyon” and the secret valley are almost as familiar to us as our own backyard. The keen young engineer who_ is building a bridge across the canyon' the society fiancee who thinks life in the West is too rough, the beautiful “child of nature” to whom the young engineer is irresistibly drawn, and the I-will-kill-him-curse-him type of backwoods villain, are all old friends, and Miss (or is it Mrs.?) Mary Imlay Taylor has found nothing fresh to say about them in her new novel. However, something—perhaps it was the “strong love interest” —seems to have impressed a seasoned firm of publishers. “The Love Bridge,” Mary Imlay Taylor. Cassell and Co., Ltd., London. Our copy comes from the publishers’ Melbourne representative. In the Land of Fey Personally we love an excursion into the Land of Fey, particularly if our guide is an author with a pretty fancy. Hope Merrilees has pictured a delightful land of romance in “Lud-in-the-Mist,” and weaves a story of how the fairies were brought back to the pleasant land of Dorimare. Now this Lud-in-the-Mist was the principal town of the country of Dorimare, and during the reign of a duke who laughed himself off his throne, the fairies were banished beyond the Debatable Hills, never to return. But gradually the fairies came back, though anyone who was known to have anything to do with their coming was immediately hauled before the judges of the court. That is enough of the story, which is as pleasant a piece of reading of its kind as one could wish to meet. The quaint folk of Dorimare have a pretty set of oaths. In petulant moments they exclaim: “By my great aunt’s rump!” or “Busty Bridget!” or “Toasted cheese!” which are much nicer than some oaths we know. “Lud-in-the-mist!” Hope Merrilees. W. Collins and Sons, Ltd.