THE BOOKMAN

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 791, 11 October 1929, Page 16

THE BOOKMAN

MAUROIS, AND OTHERS WHAT FRENCH WOMEN READ [Written for The s'u.t.J AT THE conclusion of the lat* rt French authors, many o! ■shorn, like Anatole France, were aged, cheerfully served their country. Returning to civil life and feeling rejuvenated, they wrote lightly —rather to the surprise of elderly ladies, who had expected hostilities to have a chastening effect upon their favourite writers. Reaction setting in, the men of letters viewed literature seriously, to be informed by women.—mostly young—that a medium between dull ness and facetiousness would not come amiss. Flammarion, a publisher noted for his enterprise, then hit upon the happiest of ideas, the "Leurs Amours” series. At the moment no book 3 art more popular in drawing-room r.nd boudoir; f r each volume, dealing with the love affairs of a famous woman, is written in delightful style by some eminent author, such as Flament, Xoziere, Reboux, and Barthou. These : 'udiss of Ninon de L’Enclos. I.a Pomi ndour, Du Barry, and Josephine are a teal contribution to French history, rad a guide to feminine psychology. Particularly interesting is “Da Vie Amoureuse de Lady Hamilton,” in w hich Flament traces Emma’s career from her kitchenmaid days to the poor thing's last moments in Calais, where foolish Sir William’s idol died in ]>overiy. "La Vie Amoureuse de Louis XIV” also is of value, Bertrand, who has written it. having reproduced the spirit of old Versailles with peculiar • harm. If Lady Hamilton conveys little to Frenchwomen in general, Louis XIV means a great deal to each •levouror of literature. So does that insidious rascal Casanova, Rostand r.ecundus being his biographer. Maurois, a most graceful writer, a stylist amongst stylists. enchants • very woman of taste. Even those who are unacquainted with the works o* Dickens (translations of which have long been on -cle in France) look forward to "tin iu .ai sur Dickens,” which 1 as recently left Maurois’s study for the publisher’s establishment. Fils ‘•Ariel ou la Vie de Mtslley” is read—end re-read—by all who delight in perfectly turned phrases. “La Vie de Disraeli” also enjoys a tremendous vogue iu feminine circles, the forbearance exhibited by "Dizzy” whenever his wife spoke without first thinking—a fault which she exercised freely—faking the admiration of all readers. Callic husbands are far les3 inclined to clemency, owing, perhaps, to wives looking upqp man as the superior animal, a being apart, the incarnation of reason and wisdom, a treasure beyond price. . . . Vet. the average Frenchman is far less intelligent than she whom te considers hi 3 mental inferior.

During the war Maurois served as interpreter with the British Army, living in various officers* messes and studying commissioned ranks at the closest possible ouerte-s. Consequently. the characters in "Les Silences du Colonel Bramble” end “Les Discours «iu Pocteur O’Grady” are exact reproductions of the model. The courting of the bourgeoise young person by the general’s A.P C. particularly appeals to ladies who move in exalted social circles. They possess a strongly developed reu'-e „f humour —msnv can quote whole sentences dealing with the episode. Appreciation could not go further.

Since the present year dawned many hooks have heen published without attracting special attention. Some are by authors entitled to write after their august names the magic words "de VAcaddmie Franoaise.” a dearly-prized honour in French literary circles, though not always resulting In novels that itVerert women—or men. Tf not the hallmark of dullness, the distinction apparently has at any rate no part in the scheme cf things evolved by the librarie eallimard. the publishers of the "Vies des Homines JUustres” series; for each work so to speak, an untitled writer. The collection includes "Chopin on ie Fodte by de Fourtales. and a revived interest in the music of the poet-com-nosar particularly among girl pianists in Paris, baa resulted in many a copy or the book finding n purchaser. Lulli also figures in the series: every woman who sings his imperishable "Bois Epais” probably has read this Indispensable autobiography by Premieres, written so as equally to reveal liter aw and musical understanding. GEORGE CECIL. Baris.

Reviews® &. . ... .