Books Reviewed

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 501, 2 November 1928, Page 14

Books Reviewed

BRILLIANT CONVERSATIONS TJUMBERT WOLFE, round whom the limelight is forever playing, has been described as a literary lapidary, who polishes words until they shine each in its appointed setting, like beautiful, scintillating gems. James Douglas goes further: “He is

like an angel flying through clouds. . . .His flight is hard to follow, but It is a lofty flight, and it leads you into the empyrean out of the lower air.” And he who wishes to follow Mr. Wolfe to those Parnassian slopes —where he will discourse of this and that in poetry, and of that and this in literature—may do so by purchasing “Dialogues and Monologues,” his first book of literary criticism. Having purchased the book, the young thirster after knowledge should take a humble seat amidst the amaranth and moly that are dotting the slopes . . . and listen. For when Humbert Wolfe converses with his soulmates there is a feast for those who sit at Gamaliel’s feet. One of the most intellectual men in literary London today, Mr. Wolfe is a figure who commands attention. In the brilliant series of conversations “reported” in this book we find stimulating impressions of “English Bards and French Reviewers,” “The Difficulties of the Poet.” ‘Modernism in Fiction," and “The Craft of Verse,” expressed with a concinnity that demands admiration. Mr. Wolfe’s essay on “Public Servants in Fiction,” in which he playfully argues that the well-known defence of blindness, "They also serve who only stand and wait,” had a direct reference to Milton’s long career as a Civil servant, Is alone worth the price of the book. Following that fancy, he takes us for a tour of literature in which, as cicerone, he makes witty and pithy observations on a score of books and writers, never losing sight of the main theme, and returning to his original quotation with this conclusion: “You will see that the general view appears to be that what public servants serve is generally a double fault. But somehow they don’t lose the set.” In “Drums,” the final essay, are amusing references to modern newspapers, and to the reactions of Oxford University to the stray poets who chance to be produced in the City of Spires. If we had the power to award literary prizes, we would present Mr. Wolfe twice as many honours as were accorded King Cambyses, who “took several prizes, g jg. One for virility, jp# And two for amiability.” He is one of the most refreshing writers on the literary horizon to-day. “Dialogues and Monologues,” Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 14 “Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London. CHRISTOPHER’S DAY As a skilful weaver of tales Mr. Martin Armstrong needs no introduction. “Saint Christopher’s Day” adds another feather to his cap. Here is a story, simply told, that has a charm and freshness to delight the most jaded of us. It is a day from the life of Christopher Brade and Janet Brade, his spouse. The day is the birthday of Christopher and the feast day of the saint of that name. We are not very familiar with the calendar of the saints, but whatever virtues the good St. Christopher may have possessed, it is safe to claim that he had a very close rival in his namesake. Mr. Brade was a most lovable soul, with a yearning for Romance and a desire to pour out the riches of his affection in an unending spate. Mrs. Brade, unfortunately, was hampered by an inhibition which made her demeanour as frigid as that of an early-Victorian matron who had discovered a scandal at the vicarage. Can a troubadour sing blithely if his mistress will throw icy water at him from her casement window? Christopher’s wife was a kind of Mrs. Hyde and Dr. Janet Jekyll. She had not the grace, even, to wish him a happy birthday, although she had asked a party of her friends to dinner in celebration of the event (his friends being “on the index”). By a process of retrospective and introspective thought “fade-outs”—how useful the cinema has become to us amateur psychologists!—we follow the life-story of Mr. Brade as he goes about his day’s work and prepares for the birthday party. Similarly we gather

Mrs. Brade’s reactions to life in general and Christopher in particular. At the end of the tiresome dinner party, Mr. Brade (to silent yells of encouragement from the reader) packs up his valise and walks out of Mrs. Brade’s life completely. The last two chapters, in which this episode is recounted, are masterly. As 12 strikes we see Mrs. Brade dissolved in tears in her boudoir and Mr. Brade stretching himself luxuriously in a bed at a strange hotel, looking forward with exuberance to a new life, which begins on the morrow. An exhilarating tale of tardy and just retribution.

"St. Christopher’s Day.” Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 14 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London. Our copy from the publishers. A Non-committal Answer

“What would you have done?” asks the late Mr. Louis Tracy in the title to a fine mystery yarn issued just before his death; and with a horrible consciousness of physical inferiority, and nervous palpitation at the sight of a mere snarling fox-terrier, let alone a couple of desperate international killers, this critic confesses that he would not have shown the calm courage of Captain Robert Mannering, or the cheery indifference to danger which made Betty Hardacre so engaging a character. These two, drawn together as from the poles, stumbled on a crime perpetrated by foreign agents seeking a poison-gas formula of importance not merely to national security, but also to the safety of the world. How the plot was thwarted makes a characteristic Louis Tracy thriller, well told, with a pleasant little love-story, and some bright passages showing policemen and detectives as human fellows, not either dolts or calculating-machines, as in some other hooks we know. ..“What Would You Have Done?” by Louis Tracy. Hodder and Stoughton. Our copy from the publishers’ representative in Australia. From Beowulf to Spenser. The latest addition to “The Modern Pictorial Library,” a shilling series, issued by The Richards Press, is Mr S. P. B. Mais’s “The Dawn of British Literature.” This is a readable and informative account of literature in the British Isles, from Beowulf, the AngloSaxon epic, to “The Faerie Queen,” the Elizabethan allegory. The quotations are very well chosen, and the pictures equally so. The brief account is too brief, of course, to be adequate: but it has the gusto which makes readers anxious to read what they are reading about. “The Dawn of British Literature.” S. P. B. Mais. The Modern Pictorial Library: The Richards Press, Ltd. Our copy from the publishers. "Side Shows.” Not stories, not essays, these very pleasant brevities of Mr J. B. Atkins are full of life. They narrate, they describe, they comment. Their flavour is smooth and salt. The turn of phrase is so good that one enjoys without ever stopping to admire: and writing like that is far better than the deliberately arresting stuff which is admired for more. Take “Quite a Salon” as a bit of neat fun at the expense of literary ladies; take “Autumn on the Norfolk Coast” as excellently mixer character, narrative, and description. This book is good reading. “Side Shows.” J. B. Atkins. With an introduction by James Bone. The Travellers’ Library: Jonathan Cape, Ltd. Our copy from the publishers. An Aucklander’s Book “Along the Road” is the book of a traveller in our land. Probably no woman in the Dominion has more closely followed the Publicity Department’s exhortation to “see New Zealand first” than Miss Elsie K. Morton. And she has seen it with the seeing eye. She has wandered round the pleasant bays of Rakiura, followed ferny tracks into the heart of Westland, recreated history at Akaroa, enjoyed winter sports at Tongariro, seen life in the northern gum-fields, roughed it in the bush and travelled de luxe on,the train that carried the Duke and Duchess of York through the Dominion. An experienced journalist, she has set down her impressions vividly, and these she has now gathered together in a pleasant little book that will appeal to all who are interested in their own land. There are hundreds of New Zealanders who are prepared to cover reams of paper with descriptions of abbeys and min-

sters, lochs and fiords, people and places—so long as these are to be found in the Old World. But there are few who have made a genuine endeavour to present a pen-picture of these islands of ours, so lavishly endowed and so rich in history and legend. Miss Morton is one of the few, and right well she has performed her task. “Along the Road” is illustrated with excellent photographs from Miss Morton’s camera. They are loosely mounted and make a most effective addition to a book that should enjoy wide popularity in the coming giftseason. “Along the Road.” A Book of New Zealand Life and Travel. By Miss Elsie K. Morton. Unity Press, Auckland. Our copy from the author. “E.V.’s” Essays That most indefatigable writer, Mr. E. V. Lucas —to read the list of his published works occupies nearly as much time as one requires for the perusal of a magazine article—has

added still another volume to the evergrowing list. “A Rover I Would Be” is the title, and Mr. Lucas’s roving takes us to the English countryside, to Paris on a May Day, to St. Emilion, where it is essential, if one would achieve good luck, to drop a pin in the well at which the virtuous saint once slaked his thirst . . . and to all those quaint, restful spots so dear to Mr. Lucas and to his thousands of admirers. . Here are Lucas fantasies, too, such as that of the Queen who pined for diversion and outwitted her medical advisory board, which included such ornaments to the medical profession as Lord Extract of Malt, Sir Elder Flower, Dame Bella Donna, Sir Carver Shortleigh and Sir Hewatt Twunce. Most of the essays are reprinted from the “Sunday Times” and “Punch,” and bear the stamp of the Lucas art —ease, grace and just a flavour of that Attic Salt that is as necessary a condiment in the essayist’s cruet as paprika and tobasco are in that of the modern novelist. "A Rover 1 Would Be.” Essays and Fantasies. Methuen and Co., Ltd., London. Our copy from the publishers. Publications Received “The New Zealand Traveller.”—Christmas Number 1928. Published by the United Commercial Travellers’ and Warehousemen's Association of New Zealand. Contains many splendid illustrations of New Zealand life, of Dominion cities and delightful scenic resorts. "The Political Circus”—A book of cartoons by Mr. Jack Gilmour. 28 pp. The New Zealand Publishing Co., Ltd.., 1-3-5 Marion Street, Wellington.