Chapter 77

20–4957

Anderson Crow, besides being the detective of the title, held a number of important municipal offices in the town of Tinkletown, including those of deputy marshal, deputy superintendent of the fire department, commissioner of water-works and others. His zeal on the trail of crime was therefore keen, and he rarely was outwitted, whether he was capturing German spies, or solving the mystery of a suicide or following up the effects of hard cider in the Foreign missionary society. His understudy was Alf Reesling, the village drunkard, who had been sober for twenty-five years, but who was living on the reputation of one hilarious week of his youth. Harry Squires, the editor of the weekly Banner, was a thorn in the side of the detective, although but for him some of his successes would have been failures.

“The tales are written in a farcical, extravagant style which, when applied to characters obviously intended to represent everyday human beings, needs a strong dash of humor to make it palatable. Mr McCutcheon has not made them funny enough. The illustrations, by the author’s famous brother, are full of ‘pep’ as one would expect them to be.”

“Good fun.”

“While sketchy and episodical, the narrative is well knit. It is, perhaps, not far from the truth to say that Mr McCutcheon’s story is a satire on the detective creation of the fiction writers.”

MCCUTCHEON, GEORGE BARR.West wind drift. *$2 (2c) Dodd

20–18655

The Doraine, in the treacherous days of the war, sailed one day from a South American port carrying a thousand souls. And from that day she was never seen again, and was eventually reported lost with all on board. But two German spies might have given a fuller report if they had told of their work before they dropped off onto the launch that was awaiting them in the middle of the South Atlantic. The Doraine was left to helplessly drift, at the mercy of wind and tide. So finally she was borne to the shores of an uninhabited island. And there the six hundred or so human beings who had survived the rigors and exposure of the trip, landed and made a settlement. All the elements in human nature which men are familiar with in normal circumstances made themselves felt here, capacity for leadership, love, jealousy, temptation, treachery, justice, but strongest of all, hope in the future. Algernon Adonis Percival, in spite of his name and the fact that he was a stowaway on the doomed ship, is the strongest character of all, and his career is the most interesting as he rises to the governorship in quite Admirable Crichton style.

“George Barr McCutcheon, the facile creator of mythical kingdoms, has invented a new ‘Swiss Family Robinson’ quite stupendous enough for production by Mr Griffith.”

“There is a straightaway yarn, which, if not particularly original or strikingly dramatic, at least leads one logically from the first chapter to the last with the feeling that one has been in company of a good-humored entertainer. Brightly written throughout, Mr McCutcheon’s latest novel is worthy of his reputation.”

“The book is worth reading for itself and also because it brings saliently to mind some of the things which are essential to liberty and combined effort in civilized countries, as well as in desert islands.”

“The book was not written to prove anything for which many will be thankful.” Caroline Singer

“It is an entertaining tale which holds the reader enthralled through its various stages.”

MACDONALD, GREVILLE.North door. *$2 (1½c) Houghton

20–26987

This romance, whose scene is the coast of Cornwall more than a century ago, has a historic background. It shows us the dawn of modern industrialism and how a country’s prosperity may be paid for with the blood of a once prosperous peasantry. The central figure is a saintly but rather unorthodox priest who puts his faith in the good to the supreme test by himself crossing the threshold of the accursed “North door” of the church in search of the reality of sin and evil. He finds both only to see it vanish before the higher reality of a divine goodness. A two-fold romance runs through the story, that of a peasant girl’s heroic love for a giant fisherman and smuggler and the highly spiritualized romance between the priest and Lady Evangeline.

“In this attempt to reproduce the life of a Cornish parish during the first decade of the nineteenth century some faults of construction are redeemed by much charm and sincerity.”

“Something of Hawthorne’s moral sense, his superstitious awe, his sternness, his artistry, and, to a certain extent, his power of construction are more than noticeable—they are outstanding. George Brandes once declared that literature’s task is to give a ‘condensed representation of a people and an age.’ If this is true, then ‘The north door’ is surely entitled to consideration as literature.”

“The book has a marked character of its own, it is unusual and arresting.”

“The portrait of Christopher Trevenna is a real, if slightly sentimental, piece of character drawing. The author’s rather verbose and involved style places an unnecessary obstacle in the way of the reader’s enjoyment.”

MACDONALD, JAMES RAMSAY.Government of India. *$1.50 Huebsch 354

(Eng ed 20–509)

“The appearance of this informative book is stated by the author to have been delayed by the war. He reviews the origin and evolution of the links which connect India with ourselves, and reminds readers that the needs of that empire cannot be met by an adjustment here and an adjustment there: ‘they have to be viewed in their wide sweep.’ Mr Macdonald discusses with considerable fullness the Montagu-Chelmsford report, deals with the religious problems in India, and remarks that a very common opinion of both Indians and English is that the Christian missions in India thwart the nationalist movement—partly by implanting in the minds of the people thoughts which lead them away from Indian leadership and ideas. In the author’s judgment, the Legislative councils should have more authority, especially in finance, and the Viceroy’s council be made more representative.”—Ath

“This new volume has been produced in an international milieu which is characterized by at least two sets of conditions. The first are those generated by the talk of a league of nations, and the second is the fait accompli of a socialist state in bolshevik Russia. And it is because the author seeks to harmonize his theories with these novel phenomena that his book acquires an importance such as is hardly indicated by the limitations of its title.” B. K. Sarkar

“The trouble about Mr Ramsay Macdonald’s book on India is that portions of it are obsolete. He describes a form of government which is about to undergo great modifications. Little further need be said by the way of criticism. Mr Macdonald writes with a practised hand, sometimes even with charm. He has handled his theme with moderation and restraint. It is a pleasure to pick up a book about India which contains no word of bitterness, no trace of violent controversy, no exaggeration or over-statement.”

MACDONALD, JAMES RAMSAY.Parliament and revolution. (New library of social science) *$1.50 Seltzer 335

20–26685

“‘Parliament and revolution’ is a careful comparison between the existing government in England and the aims and projects of the Bolshevists. While the book is antibolshevist, Mr Macdonald is quick to recognize any sound reasoning in the bolshevist theories to denounce the flaws in the rule of Parliament. He includes a description of the working of the soviet system in Russia, and a discussion of ‘direct action,’ the name under which bolshevism is discussed and advocated by the British labor party.”—Springf’d Republican

“Not in any sense an objective scientific study, but an assertion of principles that deserves attention.”

Reviewed by Ordway Tead

“As a piece of argumentation ‘Parliament and revolution’ leaves a good deal to be desired. Its logical texture is not of the finest; too often it gives us assertion where we want demonstration; and as for ‘scientific’ and ‘unbiased,’ these adjectives, by which the book is described in the publishers’ advertisement on the paper cover, have no more to do with the case than the flowers that bloom in the spring.” R. L. Schuyler

“In a measure, Mr Macdonald’s book is a salutary corrective to a good deal of loose vituperation. But there is another aspect to the matter with which he has failed to deal. Granted the ignorance and inertia of the modern electorate what, at bottom, are its causes?... The trade unions have an importance which Mr Macdonald altogether fails to give them in this study.” H. J. L.

“The book is one that, we warrant, will not fully satisfy any single Socialist. One feels himself at times tantalized between enjoyment of some excellent statement of principle or fact or analysis of some particular question, only to draw a conclusion here and there that appears to be a concession to conventional opinion. Yet the book will appeal to all but the romanticists and those of fixed opinions.” James Oneal

“The first volume of the New library of social science seems to me the most straightforward treatise on government which has come out since the beginning of the war.” M. H. Anderson

“It is to be hoped that this contribution may stimulate a further discussion on these important questions of the technique of revolution.”

“It is forceful in logic and classic in clearness.”

“The whole book is a careful study of dangerous political tendencies of the times and well worth reading by adherents and opponents of socialism alike.” B. L.

MACDONALD, ZILLAH K.Eileen’s adventures in Wordland. il *$2.25 (5c) Stokes

20–17532

“This is the story of a little girl who visited the land behind the dictionary and found out for herself that words are alive.” Eileen was sitting in the schoolroom writing out the words she had misspelled and trying to remember that syntax doesn’t end in tacks, when the letter X suddenly jumped out of her inkwell and confronted her. Under his guidance she visited Dictionary Town and there met the words who live in English Wordland, “plain strong Anglo-Saxon words, French aristocrat words who came over with William the Conqueror, the old giant Greek and Latin words, foreign words from every land who have been adopted by Mother English Language, and the happy-go-lucky slang words who live in a gipsy camp outside of Dictionary Town.” The whimsical illustrations are by Stuart Hay.

“A very clever little idea, this. With all her fun, the author tries to be soundly etymological, which will please the educators, without annoying the children. The illustrator, Stuart Hay, adds much with his line-drawings to a book which is bound to give its readers a good time.”

“It will be an excellent book for supplementary reading in the elementary grades. The story moves with much briskness and variety.”

MACDONNELL, JAMES FRANCIS CARLIN (FRANCIS CARLIN, pseud.).Cairn of stars. *$1.50 Holt 821

20–9075

A second volume of poems by the author of “My Ireland.” As in the previous volume lyric verse predominates and the themes are drawn from Irish landscape and custom and fairy lore. A few of the titles are: The cairn of stars; A girl’s song; The black swans; The market town; The seventh son; A Munster marriage; An Irish madonna; For a god-child; The queen of Kerry; The coming of the fairies; The herdsman’s son; The beggar’s blessing.

“There is more pure poetry to the square inch of expression on the printed page of Francis Carlin than there is on the whole leaves of printed pages by any Irish-American poet of today. ‘The cairn of stars’ is far better than the earlier book. In the nearly three years since ‘My Ireland,’ Mr Carlin has added a deliberately finished technique to the instinctive technique that was his original gift. He has learned to manage his metres in a way to bring out all the finer shades of his moods and without impairing the spontaneity of feeling. At the same time he has greatly broadened the scope of his interests.” W. S. B.

“Very tuneful and pleasurable and wholesome even if the more rare and mysterious promise of certain earlier poems is not entirely fulfilled.”

Reviewed by Mark Van Doren

“A book that is delightful to read from beginning to end. Mr Carlin will never be a great poet, but he will always be a sincere and honest poet of indubitable talent.”

MCDOUGALL, WILLIAM.Group mind. *$5 Putnam 301

20–13131

“A sketch of the principles of collective psychology with some attempt to apply them to the interpretation of national life and character.” (Sub-title) The author holds that “a society, when it enjoys a long life and becomes highly organized, acquires a structure and qualities which are largely independent of the qualities of the individuals who enter into its composition and take part for a brief time in its life.” Thus a collective mental life is not merely the sum of the mental lives of its units but is a “collective mind” or, if one prefers, “a collective soul.” The book is a sequel to the author’s “Introduction to social psychology” and assumes the reader’s acquaintance with it. The contents fall into three parts: General principles of collective psychology; The national mind and character; The development of national mind and character. There is an index.

“Soundly empirical as his methods are, Mr McDougall may well fail to convince the ardent humanitarian of the error of his ways.... Nevertheless, the problem of a national eugenics must be faced and solved, not simply burked on sentimental grounds. Meanwhile, whatever moral be drawn from them, the facts must first be reviewed impartially; and Mr McDougall’s book is the model of a treatment conceived and executed in the dispassionate spirit of science.” R. R. M.

“The rule which prevents a physician from operating upon a member of his own family because his emotion would interfere with his judgment is one that no scientist can afford to ignore. Mr McDougall has ignored it. That is to say he has not searched his heart to free himself from his own group affiliations sufficiently to approach his subject with a clean and clear mind.” Walter Lippmann

“There are one or two of Mr McDougall’s statements to which we might take exception; but they are few in number and of no importance to his main argument. He is invariably impartial, lucid, and candid, making use of no theory, however plausible, unless it will bear the strictest scrutiny, and advancing no conclusions as proved so long as any reasonable doubt may be entertained of their soundness.”

“The book is well worth reading, but the student will look in vain for any considerable contribution or stimulating suggestion.” J. K. Hart

“The three chapters on ‘The race-making period’ and the following one on ‘Racial changes during the historic period’ form a singularly illuminating study of race problems.... The defence made on page 174 of the maxim ‘My country right or wrong’ suggests that his enthusiasm for the virtue of group loyalty is a little in danger of obscuring to his eyes the rights of the individual conscience. A Treitschke might with a little sophistry subscribe it.”

MCDOWALL, ARTHUR SYDNEY.Realism; a study in art and thought. *$4 Dutton 701

(Eng ed 19–12352)

“Mr McDowall makes his position clear. The material world has, he believes, a real existence apart from man. At the point of consciousness its circle and our apprehension intersect, but they remain separate circles. The problem of realism is to represent this world that our senses claim for us, not, as Zola supposed, by a literary photograph, not scientifically, but by ‘truth of impression in which feeling and imagination play the essential part.’ ‘Truth for the realist artist can never consist in ... a simple correspondence with facts. He is an observer, but he is not a reporter. He does not copy, but he creates a world which refers us back to our own world and shows it to us more truly.’”—N Y Evening Post

“Often the book is murky with the philosophical abstractions, crystallizing into dogma. He has the caution of the scholar, and not the audacity of the artist. He avoids the impertinences of brilliance, but also its decision.”

“Mr McDowall’s book should be read. It has the awareness, the keen interest in living problems, of the work of William James.”

“Mr McDowall approaches his topic from many angles and cites a wealth of relevant illustration, but finally leaves the impression that he has failed to get at the heart of it. One reason of his inadequacy is the ease with which he dismisses as obsolete the older uses of the term realism.”

MCEVILLY, MARY A.Meslom’s messages from the life beyond. *$1.50 (6c) Brentano’s 134

20–6732

The book is a record of automatic writing executed by the author and bearing messages from the beyond by Meslom, an ancient Hindu, and, with the aid of Meslom, by “L,” a victim of the war, to his mother. In the introduction the author relates how she developed her gift. The messages are chiefly confined to spiritual problems, to God’s creative force and love and the growth in spiritual power and peace of both “L” and his mother.

“The ‘messages’ have no evidential value whatever—there is not a single test of ‘identity.’ There are vastly more verbal expressions than thoughts expressed. Is it not safe to assume that the central element in the treatise, the love of God, is part of the author’s conception of Christianity, and that the ‘messages’ simply are subconscious elaborations of her mind? Everything points in that direction.”

Reviewed by Joseph Jastrow

“The messages are expressed with simplicity and clarity and reveal ardent spiritual aspiration.”

MCFADDEN, GERTRUDE VIOLET.Preventive man. *$1.75 Lane

20–8449

A story of smuggling on the Dorset coast a century ago. The “preventive man,” in the vernacular of the time, is a government agent, who comes into the neighborhood to run down the law breakers. In truth however, he is less interested in the smuggling than in his own more weighty private concerns, for he has reason to believe that his loved brother has met foul play in this very community. By a trick he gains admittance into the house of Simeon Coffin, the miser, and begins to gather the evidence that confirms his suspicions. At first he associates Simeon’s niece, Horatia, with the crime and attributes her confusion—which is really due to the possession of a piece of smuggled silk—to her guilt. She is cleared in his eyes however and he is ready enough to atone for her suffering and his cruelty.

“In spite of improbabilities, the book is well worth reading.”

“Miss McFadden is quite successful in developing her atmosphere of mystery, and her characters, although all of them are severely shaped into well-known types, manage to convey a certain sense of reality. The action of the story is swift enough to sustain the interest and it rises at times to several thrilling scenes.”

“The story has everything that is necessary to make it fine, except that touch of ability which turns a credible narrative into a romantic one. The landscape writing is recognisably good.”

“The work is not without merit, but would benefit greatly by pruning the description and adding to the action.”

“A capital adventure tale of the days when smuggling was a respectable pursuit.”

MACFARLAN, ALEXANDER.Inscrutable lovers; a tragic comedy. *$1.75 (4c) Dodd

(Eng ed 20–5589)

Margaret, the daughter of Count Kettle, Irish patriot and champion of lost causes, has been nourished on romance. As Count Kettle’s daughter she is pointed out as the most picturesque and romantic figure in Ireland. But she hates her position and she marries Charlie Macaig to escape it. “I could have loved a grocer,” says Margaret in extenuation, “just any grocer.” Charlie Macaig is the youngest member of a firm of shipowners. He is steady, he is practical, he is reliable, he is everything that Margaret’s familiar associates are not. But, as it turns out, his own dreams for all his practical business years have been of romance and adventure, and Margaret is the fulfillment of his dreams. There is mutual shock of discovery when the truth comes out, and then love, abetted by the Catholic church—which is practical or romantic as you happen to look at it—triumphs.

“To crispness of visualization, the author adds crispness in dialogue. Novelists cannot eschew some description; here Mr MacFarlan is little gifted.”

“‘The inscrutable lovers’ is Mr MacFarlan’s second book and he is said to be very young. It is a very modern sort of youth that is his. His perceptions are very sharp, but his nature seems wintry. The book is a study in contrasting temperaments. The contrasts are very clear. They are indeed too clear and their edges are too glittering. People are not as simply made as all that.”

“It has not only brilliancy but a delicate completeness comparable to (not like) that of Mr Hewlett’s earlier bits of romantic comedy. A delightful piece of literary comedy.” H. W. Boynton

“This charming little tale must be classified rather as an essay in pure comedy than as a reproduction of actual life.”

MCFEE, MRS INEZ NELLIE (CANFIELD).Boy heroes in fiction. il *$1.75 (2c) Crowell

20–17319

The stories of seven boy heroes in fiction are here presented in condensed form. The foreword says, “Some of these boy heroes of yesterday may not be known to boys of today, partly because their stories are imbedded in extra large volumes, which do not stop with boy life, but include many other things. It has been the happy task, therefore, of the present editor to disentangle and condense these stories, presenting only the portions which pertain to the boy life of each hero.” Contents: Little Gavroche (from “Les misérables”); David Balfour (from “Kidnapped”); Oliver Twist; Jim Davis (from Masefield’s “Jim Davis”); David Copperfield; Jim Hawkins (from “Treasure island”); and John Halifax.

“Her volumes would have gained as much in effect as they would have lost in length had she limited herself to quotations instead of supplementing them with paraphrases.”

MCFEE, MRS INEZ NELLIE (CANFIELD).Girl heroines in fiction. il *$1.75 (2c) Crowell

20–17320

The six girls chosen for this volume are Little Dorrit, Maggie Tulliver, Ellen (from “The wide wide world”), Little Nell, Eppie (from “Silas Marner”), and Cosette (from “Les misérables”). “Each girl is introduced in very nearly her author’s own words, and thus preserves her own individuality.” As in the book of boy heroes, the editor expresses the hope that the stories as presented here may serve as an introduction to the full-length versions.

MCFEE, WILLIAM.Captain Macedoine’s daughter. *$1.90 (2c) Doubleday

20–26979

The story of Captain Macedoine’s daughter is told by the “quiet and occasionally garrulous” Chief of H. M. S. Sycorax, detailed to escort convoys through the Ægean in war time. The Chief had known the Mediterranean in the days of peace and this is a peace-time story of plotting and intrigue, involving Captain Macedoine’s great international bubble, the Anglo-Hellenic development company, in which his daughter is used as a tool. From her mother the girl had a mixture of dark blood. Mr Spenlove, the chief, who had been one of those who fell under her spell, tells all that he knew of her tragic life and death, drawing from it his own conclusions on the nature of love.

“A tale of strange people, strange places, strange motifs, strange morals told with brilliant effect and satisfying completeness.” S. M. R.

“This well-written novel, broader in its scope than Mr McFee’s previous books is strong not only in its character portrayal but in the philosophy interspersed throughout its pages.”

“While ‘Captain Macedoine’s daughter’ is not so good a story as either ‘Casuals of the sea’ or ‘Aliens,’ it has in it all the original qualities of unconventional fiction that long ago established Joseph Conrad and that is placing Mr McFee in the same rank of novelists.” E. F. E.

“William McFee’s new novel has the same elusive perfume as Conrad’s ‘Arrow of gold.’” A. W. Welch

“‘Captain Macedoine’s daughter’ gladdens the heart of the serious lover of English prose, for it proves that in Mr McFee we have no mere casual of the pen, no fortunate adventurer upon ink who triumphed by chance, but a soberly devoted novelist from whom many years of fine work may confidently be expected.”

“‘Captain Macedoine’s daughter’ is, first of all, a masterful portrayal of two colorful personalities.... But it is far more than that; it is, too, a contrast between occidental and eastern civilizations and philosophies, a commentary on human nature, particularly an analysis of love, and an achievement in beautiful prose.”

“There is less sea and more siren in this novel than Mr McFee’s readers would perhaps expect. Few readers will resist the charm of the style; some will think the dénouement unsatisfying.”

“Unmistakably a big, compelling, haunting book.” F: T. Cooper

“The outstanding impression is the sense of atmosphere which the narrative imparts to the reader. The narrative has many curious ramifications, but each is an important part of the whole, and the reader will find himself enthralled from the first to the last scene.”

MCGIBENY, DONALD.[2]32 caliber. *$1.75 Bobbs

20–18770

“Although the author is unusually progressive in having his villain operate with the aid of airplane and machine gun, the general plot and the situations created are such as might be encountered in every-day life and modern crime. An attorney and his wife, on the way to keep an appointment that involves the domestic happiness and honor of both, are found at a lonely spot, the car wrecked, the man dead from a bullet wound, the wife unconscious in the tonneau. Was it another automobile accident, was the man murdered by the wife or did an outsider have a part in the tragedy? These are questions that perplexed the authorities and will perplex and mystify the reader.”—Springf’d Republican

“The basis and material used in the tale is excellent and would make a capital short story.”

“A not too lurid mystery interestingly built up and broken down, in a rapid, easy narrative style.”

“The only marked defect is the author’s attempt to force the reader’s suspicions on characters whose guilt, if ultimately proved by the story, would shock any decent sense of plausibility.”

“He has written so well, made his people so living and so pleasant, handled his subject so surely, that it is difficult to think of this book as a maiden essay.”

“Among the better of the new detective tales, ’32 calibre,’ early arouses the interest of the reader and holds it through a series of adventures, with the solution of the mystery not even indicated until the close.”

MACGILL, PATRICK.Maureen. *$2 (1½c) McBride

20–13698

Mr MacGill’s new story of Donegal is a mingling of pathos and humor, hard toil and grim poverty, beauty and stark tragedy. Maureen, the daughter of Kathleen O’Malley, tastes all the sorrow and loneliness of an illegitimate child and after her mother’s death leaves the parish. She has won the love of young Cathal Cassidy and he would have her stay, but long before her mother had warned her that her only happiness would lie in marrying a man outside the parish who would not have to suffer for her shame in the eyes of his neighbors, and to spare Cathal this she leaves him. She meets experiences that are bitterly cruel, but after them finds a haven with kind people and at the end of two years returns. Cathal has been faithful and it seems that their love is to bring them happiness, but tragedy overwhelms them. The war and Sinn Fein have a place in the background of the story.

“The characters in general are well drawn, and have that tragic intensity which Synge and others have made us believe to be in the Celtic blood.”

“Unmitigated truth and sincerity produce a strong reality of characters and atmosphere though not a pleasant story.”

“Such a thing to be done at all must be done exceptionally well, and Mr MacGill, with a good style at his command, has achieved a triumph.” G. M. H.

“The minor characters are admirably drawn; the chief ones are less vivid and convincing. The weaknesses of the story are glaring: it is poor both in structure and in motivation. Keeran, in the final chapters, is drawn on the lines of Dickens at his worst, and the tragic conclusion brings the reader up with the jolt of an express train coming to a violent halt.”

“The chief and tragic emphasis falls upon youth, in spite of which the best of the story lies in the penetrating, vivid, and thoroughly human presentation of the old people.” E. P.

“Much of the power of the story lies in the intermingling of quite Russian realism, with an idealism which bursts flamelike through the recital of brutal details. ‘Decent’ is the salutation of the people of Dungarrow for the strangers they meet, and decent is the epithet uppermost in the mind of the reader, in spite of Mr MacGill’s frank exposure of the vices of his own people.” E. L.

“‘Maureen’ is the story of a peasant girl in Donegal, a terrible story in many ways and a curiously fascinating one. Mr MacGill knows how to flash a scene so vividly before your mind that it haunts your visual memory for days afterward.”

“In ‘Maureen’ there is considerable alloy, yet much good metal and some precious. But the whole thing needs fusing.” J. C. L.

“‘Maureen’ is not up to ‘Children of the dead end’ or ‘Rat pit,’ but it is well worth reading, especially to Irish folk and the legion that love the Irish.” S. C. Daljord

“There are very few figures in the story that evoke admiration; most of them, to be quite frank, suggest the opposite. But their vitality is amazing, and because of this authentic possession of the power to make his characters live and breathe, Mr MacGill takes a prominent place with those other admirable Irish fictioneers, St John Ervine, Shaw Desmond, James Joyce and James Stephens.”

Reviewed by H. W. Boynton

“Mr MacGill’s story is a stern presentation not only of characters, but of racial characteristics and psychology. It is always real and alive. The book unrolls before the reader’s eyes a segment of life from rural Ireland with all the reality of a picture film.”

“Nothing farther removed from the individualist English novel could be imagined. It is not that the characters are in any way lacking in individuality. They are creatures of flesh and blood right enough, terrible in their humanity. But it is as social rather than as personal values that they count. There is little joy in Mr MacGill’s book—one feels that the sun seldom shines in Donegal—but it has creative richness and the supreme quality of truth.”

MCGILVARY, MARGARET.Dawn of a new era in Syria. il *$2.50 Revell 940.356

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