Jottings

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 3, 31 July 1931, Unnumbered Page

Jottings

N "Sowing Glory," Major P. C. Wren Was expanded into a book the mem_oirs of Mary Ambree, an Englishwoman "who served in the French Foreign Legion, and whose father and brother, both ‘officers in the British Army, were killed in the first months of the war, she herself driving ambulances for five yéars in France and Belgium. 2 * * a FYYEN for those ‘not’ much interested 7 in champion’ jumpers: and intelligent horses, ‘‘Moonfisher,". -by Mr... Philip Macdonald,.., will.. prove highly jiteresting and "entertaining. Nicholas Sentry, who has a way’ in dealing with. refractory.horseflesh, barters a motor-car for the mare that gives the ‘name’ to the story. And a vivid and joyful story it is, racing along as fast a8 Moonfisher herself; and quite as -Saccessfully, and the simplicity of the story, its ups and downs, and triumphs and disasters, intrigue by reason of the delightful art of the storyteller. ° : x * » ial i ME. LIAM O’FLAHERTY is nothing f if not stimulating, as those who ‘have read his earlier books do not ‘meed, to be reminded. A short review . of his "Two Years" appeared in this .@olumn some little time back, and now jn "I Went to Russia," he is blunt, , forcible, tragic, and without fear or : favour. There is much self-revelation "in his latest book, combined with vividly illuminating facts eoncerning the country. that now grips the attention of the world,. all of which goes to make Mr. O’Flaherty’s. book a memor--able ‘one. : 2 * * Ms . NAOMI MITCHISON is not -everybody’s novelist. Her following is of the highbrow. cult, the litterary elect. But their enthusiasm. fades not nor fails, and her latest book will stir them to fresh enthusiasm: "Tlic | Corn Spring and the Spring Queén," a cumbersome title, tells the story of a petty State on.the Black Sea Coast, | where magic flourishes, and the ways and customs are "brutal and barbaric. The lovely siren Erif marries the Corn: King, and in order to use her magic power, plots to annihilate him, and put in his place her-fdther.‘ She soon grows to love Karrik,.however, but the plot goes on and leads to tragedy piled tpon tragedy. Sparta, Athens, Dgypt, the toils and intrigues of war and peace, two centuries before Christ, are depicted with able craftsmanship, accurate knowledge, and vivid imagination. This is a novel on heroic linés, and.a notable contribution to modern fiction.

ME. RICHARD WARD, in his first novel, "The Compelled Hero," tells us of the ultra-modern smart and youthful intelligentsia of France’s gay capital city. In this somewhat depressing tale the author proves himself as possessed of a pretty wit and a ready pen. It is a slight story this that tells of a young composer of music and his disappointing love-story and speedy disillusionment; but the manner of telling, and the extraordinary loveliness of some descriptive passages, lead us to look for future work of this young writer. Bo * Lo FrRom first to last a great deal has been written abont Queen Christina of Sweden, who succeeded her father, Gustavus Adolphus, almost exactly three centuries ago, though she was not crowned "King" till 1650; but few books about her are as bright as Mrs. Compton Mackenzie’s volume entitled "The Sibyl of the North: The Tale of Christina, Queen of Sweden." The book is dedicated to Axel Munthe, author of that wonderful compound of romance, tragedy, and sheer beauty entitled "The Story of San Michele," which only recently came my way. Mrs. Mackenzie, in her book on the Swedish Queen, has concentrated upon a career more extraordinary than any of those depicted in the novels of her brilliant husband.