The Observer from London, Greater London, England • 7

THE OBSERVER, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1938 Are they either? Or rather is Mr. Warner tew levels in some respects as wise as Ezekiel? To return to the Question of the literary novel: Mr. Warner has something most serious to say, and it is perhaps' a pity that he should choose a medium which must limit his audience to intellectuals. THE CHAIR CHILD AND OTHER FAIRY TALES iii Cnnflint With a nA wuu 1 uu, fairy) of a man who fought Time, which "icaiii ms competitors in trie race liiuojjeriiy, to uie undoing 01 ms wire and children and -the ahnihilntinn nf The Last of the Vtllavldes." By Louise do Vilmwln. (Chatto.

6s. net) Irish Tales." By Pat Mullen. (Faber. 8s. 6d.

net.) The Professor." By Rex Warner. (Boriswood. 7s. 6d. net) Conflict with a God." By Eileen Blgland.

(Hodder. 7s. ed. nek) Reluctant Adonis." By Jane Oliver and Ann Stafford. (Chatto.

7s. Gd. net) BY COUN SUMMERFORD for readers of every taste own peace. Miss Bigland writes fluently and with an engaging acidity, but she has uiutu uie same saennce to ner iaea as her Philip Carew to his obsession. She din? Evefy me is rec Napoleon brandy.

They are tales told him in Aran by living bards of almost fabulous descent; West Irish tales and versions of tales which link up with their companion legends elsewhere in the world, yet remain fresh and individual, with an to aepress ana succeeds rather too thoroughly. Reluctant Adonis," on the other hand, is meant to amuse, and will pass a railway journey. It is mild, knockabout comedy; in which divorce collusion, a slapstick flying-club, and a determined girl adoring are the main ingredients. I hey are really, as may be apparent, the ingredients for a farce. earth-solidarity which will surprise non Celts.

In fact, it is a first-class book of fairy stories. They bear traces of bowel- lerisation, whether by Mr. Mullen in the interests of the young, or by the bards, in deference to latterday Anglo-Irish MIXED MARRIAGE RAY MAPLESDEN by prudery. Anyhow, Saxony must take the blame. Nigger Lover." By Doris Garland (Fowler.

7s. ed. net) Mr. Garland Anderson i Can the literary novel (also a form of man who worked ns -atav n.n 1 The brilliantly successful novel exposing many of the iniquities of the panel system. "The authot both tells a story that holds interest and makes out a strong case for a national medical service'' Reynolds News fairy tale) live? In "The Professor," at MONARCHY: A Study of Louis XIV The author says "This book makes no pretence to be a life of Louis XIV it is of a quite different sort of biography.

It is a study directed to exploring the old and half-forgotten, the now rapidly reviving, principle of Monarchy as it appears in the capital example of Louis XIV's reign." 126 net pswy THE PLEASURES OF LITERATURE Here is a book, written with the drive of a cultured, critical mind, which covers the whole range of reading from the Bible to Thomas Hardy, discovering the hidden beauties which may have passed unseen in our reading, affording us helpful information in our selection. 688 pages. 126 net THE PRINTINC! HOLBROOK JACKSON is a veteran in the ranks of those who have won us our printing laurels this excellent book." A.J.A.Symons Signature). 300 pages, with 100 illustrations. 15'- net an events, there Is drama, good and strong.

and soundly contrived. Its scene is a State in Europe at the present time, and though such a thing is technically and utterly impossible, it is hard to believe that it has not been written since the September crisis. Which State in Europe does not signify. What does signify is that the author has achieved for his 'London's Underworld The popularity of Disney, hie magic mirrors, enclouded turrets, and Noah's Ark world, is one of the most hopeful signs of the day. If we attempt the unprofitable task of analysing the fairy tale and its acceptance down the ages, the answer is.

categorically, that fairy stories are nearer to truth than most forms of literature. The modern novel, photographically exact, crammed with science, history, and sociology, may not contain a shred of the wisdom, psychological and spiritual, which underlay primitive mythologies. "The Last of the Villavides is that rarity, the successful modern fantasy. The Duke, who had no son to succeed him, cut down the ancestral Villavide oak to make a chair, and the Duchess worked for it a tapestry seat, which was stuffed with her own hair. Here is our work," he said, setting it down: here, my dear Clara, is our son and heir; let me present him to you." Such elegance." said one of the ladies: you can tell he is a gentleman of good family by his feet." This much must be revealed, for the book will not enchant every kind of reader.

But it is only the beginning; There was no point, as the Duke saw clearly, in an heir without a bride, and most of the story concerns the marriage of the Duke-armchair. To be picturesque, we are in the rainbow world of a finely blown glass bubble. The book has been gracefully translated from the French, and, as has been hinted, is in the best tradition. The old Duchess must have shared nursemaids with the White Queen, while the young Duchess undoubtedly tossed crowns with Melisande at the well-side, and perhaps further bewildered that princess with a sense of humour which was Gallic but un-Arthurian. If, in another metaphor, Madame de Vilmorin offers an exquisite light wine, Mr.

Mullen's Irish Tales are genuine imaginary nation complete authenticity vividly, thrillingly described For all the detachment and clarity, of vision with which Mr. Rex Warner gazes at European and world conditions, he is no impractical seer. He is obviously a man who has handled life, and worn and torn his fingers in the process; a man who. status of bell-hop in San Francjsco to that of author and lecturer on religious and philosophical themes. For his doctrines of uncommon sense," he uses the stage as welll as the dais and pulpit, and a play of his called "Appearances" ran well in London as well as in New York.

He married a white wife in England, and Mrs. Anderson now recounts the experiences of, one who has inevitably found social difficulties as well as great private felicity in a mixed marriage. But she is not embittered, makes no recriminations, and both preaches and practises her husband's doctrines of charity and willpower. She has toured America with him and gives an excellent survey of the colour-problem there, reminding white readers how intolerant one negro may be of another. (Coloured women, who gladly work in domestic service for white women, often will not do so for richer members of their own race.) There is a very sensible description of Harlem, which dispels the ridiculous notions of mystery spread by sentimental and gushing writers who love to talk of its dark pulse and throbbing heart.

Harlem is very like the rest of New York, except that the. faces have a different colour. Altogether Mrs. Garland Anderson has written a completely unsensational and most sensible book on a topic about which stupid people may expect to be vulgarly thrilled and excited. touching various depths of emotion, has found life harsh and emerged unembit-tered.

mat pontics ana equivocation are synonymous; that representative govern ments represent no more than purposeful minorities; that statesmen (I fear he is by the author of "Love on the Dole WALTER GREENWOOD Far more than a crime story Quite a few hearts are going to beat faster before the last page has been reached Evening News 76 thinking of our own) are lachrymose, peti- togging, unscrupulous, ana part of a machinery which can only destroy per sonal integrity; that intelligent informed opinion is a valley of dry bones without hope of resurrection these things are ob vious, you will say, or obviously absurd. This is her greatest novel WtiY DID THEY DIE? WHAT The Strange Crime In Bermuda." By Elizabeth 8anxay Holding. (The Bodley Head. 7s. ed.

net.) Cradled in Murder." By Rudd Fleming. (Hamish Hamilton. 7s. 6d. net) 1 How Did Elmer Die7 By Geoffrey Philip West.

(Longmans. 7s. ed. net) Night on the Devil's Pathway." By Charlotte Murray Russell. (The World's Work.

Ts. 6d. net.) Red Snow at Oarjeeling." By L. G. Bloohman.

(The Crime Club. 7s. 6d. net.) BY TORQUEMADA this author's next book, if, as is likely, his ingenuousness departs and his ingenuity remains. Jane Amanda Edwards is growing relatively genial, and has become almost pathetic in her faith in her hedonistic brother Arthur; her publishers still call her that prying, acidulous old maid," but Charlotte Murray Russell has so mellowed her in Night on the Devil's Pathway that she certainly does not now deserve the second adjective.

In this book Jane visits her friends of the Fair-child family (not in the least like Mrs. Sherwood's), and soon has the murder of the unpleasant son of the house to investigate. He is found by a narrow natural bridge across the ravine separating the Fairchild home from thp hos 0 TT DARK PATHWAY Mr. Newton's plot is disguised with extreme subtlety, his characters are carved sharply his style is outstandingly virile." Peter Belloc (DAILY SKETCH). 76 net Elizabeth Sanxay Holding has been writing and publishing for a good many years in America, and now, better late mitted two murders.

His one hope is to find the leaves from a certain diary which he believes Eugenie to have deposited at than never, she appears for the first time the convent where she was educated England with The Strange Crime in A. study of after, tke murder by BARONESS VON HUTTEN People often say, in reading pf executionj "What happened to the murderer's family afterwards Here is, at last, a new angle on the crime story, cleverly handled and highly entertaining 76 Strong, dramatic romance There has to be a third murder, and Huymer has to tread a path of terror, pain, and exhaustion, and even to undertake a horrid amateur exhumation, before his innocence is made clear; and even so we end on a note of infinitely tragic gro-tesquerie. How Did Elmer Die? One of the answers is that Geoffrey Philip West. DOCUMENTS MARKED "SECRET" "A real change from the ordinary thriller." EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS. Mr.

Gloag has here a genuinely new angle which lifts his book into excellence." BIRMINGHAM GAZETTE. 76 net COMES TO lively, sympathetic, realistic novel" Times Literary Supplement. Bermuda." This is an excellent tale of the exotic school; the colours and the sunlight are exciting. Our eyes are dazzled a little, it may be. but it is the author's sheer cleverness in exploiting the opposite quality as a forcing-pit for murder, and her legitimate camouflage painting of character, which keep them closed to manner and motive for quite a time after we can put a name to the perpetrator of the two crimes.

Hamish Grier, a reserved and stubborn youngster, is urgently called to Bermuda by his venturous and mobile friend. Hector Malloy. who disappears soon after the young man's arrival. Hamish has a romantic passion for the beautiful Faquita, Malloy's A houseboy is found dead in a chest, and Mapsie is smothered on her bed. There is Voodoo in the air.

Superintendent Jesser, who might have stepped straight out of real life into the book, solves a fascinating mystery most pleasantly. Rudd Fleming has filled Cradled in Murder with much of madness, and more of sin," has made honor the soul of the plot, and, save for letting his style become occasionally a little too strained and artificial, has done so very well. Young Eugenie Fourian writes a short sketch of her life for the eyes of her university tutor, Huymer Van Ravensway, in which she states that her father and mother were murdered when she was a baby, and that she herself expects to be murdered. She then invites Huymer to the house of her decadent, senile, and hate-ridden New Orleans family, and to her bed; he is with her when she dies of poison, and he becomes spiritually involved beyond hope in her madhouse setting. Very soon he is being hunted by the police, who esteem him to have corn- tile Bannett home.

She has plenty of snooping to do, and in the course of it she treats us- to some grim nerve states and introduces us to some interesting people, notably Adela Fairchild; but, unlike any of its predecessors, her present adventure fails as a detective story: we feel almost cheated when we And the murderer among a group of people whom we hardly know. Also one not unimportant verbal clue is picked up, but never dropped. Red Snow at Darjeeling is a thriller belonging to the sound melodramatic tradition, in which black is black and white is white, though the businesslike and superficially unsentimental hero and heroine are pleasantly lacking in melodramatic stickiness. It should also be mentioned that brown is pleasantly brown. Paul Woodring is sent for to Calcutta by Alexander Blenn.

a sort of Henry Ford of India. Blenn wishes Wood-ring to obtain for him a renewal of his mechanical transport and mineral concession in It is on the point of expiring, and he expects a refusal from the Nawab, as the latter has been flirting with foreign Powers: Woodring's lever is to be a dangerous and effective one a photograph showing the Nawab writing at a table in company with Fascist, Nazi, and Japanese representatives. Before Woodring can leave for Darjeeling Blenn's second-in-command is murdered. Blenn disappears, and Wood-ring himself is wanted by the police. He manages, however, to make the train, only to find himself accompanied by the beautiful and vampiric Leda Carmaine.

the sinister Count Vazriilko, the mysterious botanist Dr. Feurmann, the subtle Inspector Prike (an old friend of ours), the more sledge-hammer Deputy-Inspector Robbins, and the deeply alcoholised yet strangely omnipresent Emmet-Tansley. After this a fast action becomes furious, and the only episode in it which I deprecated was the old baiting of a hero-trap with kidnapped heroine. whose first book I believe this, to be. has seen to it that he made a good and elaborate end.

The reader does not know whether to be more surprised by the ingenuity of some of the story's plot, or by the ingenuousness of most of its telling. For about a hundred pages Chief Inspector Ferry, without waiting for the pathologist's report, investigates Elmer's death, at a seaside hotel for gourmets, on the assumption that he has been poisoned; then, when he has been proved mistaken and put on the right track by medical expertise, he lets a casual and rather unconvincing girl guest beat him to an important part of a most interesting truth. Some little way before the end, too, the Chief Inspector knows who," and the local Superintendent knows, or thinks he knows, how yet they will not pool their information, presumably lest the reader's fun be spoiled. There is much promise, also, of rare knowledge to be displayed of the grape, and of Lucullus about to dine with Lucullus, but all we are given is a snippet from a wine list and one somewhat informative menu. A certain regrettable aspect of "How Did Elmer Die? is certainly not the author's fault: Geoffrey West has devised an original and plausible psychological alibi, and the writer of the blurb is so anxious that we shall not miss the point that he tells us, almost in so many words, that there are only two cats awaiting our choice in the bag.

A much warmer welcome will greet THE MIDAS TOUCH g6 Congratulations, Margaret Kennedy Peter Belloc (DAILY SKETCH). "Accomplished and entertaining." Douglas West (DAILY MAIL). THE DAILY MAIL NOVEMBER CHOICE with the author's favourite setting NORA K. STRANGE The author of The Listening Earth presents one of the love stories of the season, and her. setting of Kenya is, as usual, drawn with skill and dramatic certainty 76 A thrilling, mystery story THE A HO REMEMBERS THAT is at his best in his latest book DBA The Glory of God A Letter to My Son ROBERT 0.

BALLOU The Rev. Leslie Weatherhead writes in his Foreword: "So, because I believe this challenging book will do good, because I believe that nothing is true about God if it is false to the spirit of Jesus Christ and that nothing is worth preserving in modern religious beliefs and practices that would not win His approval, I em glad to write this foreword. I believe Jesus Christ, who loves an honest mind, wo old approve iJiis book." Price 6 net 5 rA rA rA rA rA rA rA rA rA rA rA rA rA rA SIX SHILLINGS FREDERICK ARNOLD RUMMER Sallie Martin saw it first in a mirror, in the house which she had inherited from her great aunt a writhing man's face, alive yet horrible as death 76 Thrilling romantic Secret Service novel by BEALL CUNNINGHAM There is undoubtedly a strong flavour of John Buchan in this exciting and romantic story of the Scottish moors 76 See the full range of important Hutchinson novels at the Earls Court Exhibition. There are also hundreds of other books for all tastes and for all purses JOHN' MILES of AW MS CORNER moment in Through the Looking Glass when Alice walks through the wood with her arm round the neck of the fawn? Such charm precisely is to he found in The Yearling." This is an extract from the first review received of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' novel by Sylvia Lynd in harper's bazaar. The Yearling has been at the top of American best-seller lists for more than six months and over 230,000 copies have been sold.

In England personal recommendation alone has compelled us to reprint within a week of publication. The near-to-nature enchantment of the book is sweeping England as surely as it has swept America. TIE YEA1MM Over 400 pages 8s 6d Heinemann rA rA rA va rA rA rA rA STAMPS 26 a line; Minimum, 7 'fi TAKE BRITISH COLONIAL. STAMPS are my 6eLtcUon sent on appro a'. ar.

invest- ALLEN Essex LEGAL NOTICE 2 hrte. Mrnimujii, 76. IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE PROBATE DIVORCE AiND ADMIRALTY DIVISION 'DIVORCE' PORTSMOUTH DISTRICT REGISTRY TO HENRY ALBERT HOCK IN larr of 16a. Lef-sLa nd-road. Oosport.

the County Har.Lj- TAKE NOTICE Uiai a Petit'on for Divorce bv FDITH HOCK IS IIa d-road Han tH'f rUd i nriorH'ii a nor 'a ii i i pr.iP' -j 1 Lnlru'i Ufo-r, VAR: ENGLISH COLONIALS CUspe -alal'iBue price 6. WesthilL-rd a COPY SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO CLASSIFIED A DVT. rA rA rA rA High Coun ul cp at Cour; ONE ol I i i rA answer to I Nn chm at'- i JUTC.n In i ir 1.0 dO-rjg Cuur; v. A Imnr che id.i-n.ee ai I Ln-onounce judfin.enL. H.

PAYNE, District Registrar. rArArArATATAvArArAvA THE OBSERVER OFFICES, 22, TUDOR-STREET, C.4. WlNFrR r- LA COM 3'i Couinifi i THE CORN IS GREEN' a new play by Emlyn Williams 5s.