The sun., 1919-09-21
"Sapper," author of Mutt
By N. p. d.


THE English artillery officer who
Il writes under the name of "Sap-
per-" and whose real romantic name is
said to be Cyril McNeile, is the author of
several volumes Of war stories and
sketches that have been enormously popu-
lar in England; more popular in England
thar here. But no better stories of the
war than some Of Sapper's were written
anywhere. An odd thing about them was
that you never believed in them for a
minute, being quite obviously and melo-
dramatically fiction. But this did not
seem to make any difference. They might,
and doubtless should, have been true. At
least, with his light and ironic method
The truly. British way of carrying a big
thing off lightly, as if nobody cared
"Sapper" had no Difficult in thrilling his
readers, and his stories n well have car
ried them into the thick md the heart
of the war more than 9TH, less highly
colored.
But how about Mutt, new novel by
"Sapper'3 Hugh Walpole, who keeps
our readers informed about Books and the
Book World in London, lists Mutt as
one of the six financial successes of the
season. Mr.. Walpole does not say, we
should be careful to note, that Mafti is
one Of the six books he himself has liked
the most, or even that it is one of she six
"best" books-he has other lists for these.
But it is a curious fact that in England,
VIII, re some of the best fiction in the
world is written, judging from prize con-
tests and book stall displays, some Of the
worst fiction is read.
Mafti is a curious mixture. Some of
it reads almost like caricature of the
cheapest romantic stuff of fiction, if not
the stuff itself. The hero addresses the
girl as 'Lady" or "Grey Lady" The hero
inc calls the hero "boy" in such sentences
as these:
II went down there the morning after
Our Day-oh, my God boy, how loved
that time. :"
"Ohl Boy What Hell it all is,
what utter HELP
Joan is an original girl. She says: "If
I want to do thing-I generally do it.
For Instance, if l want to go and talk to
a man in his rooms, do So" She does it.
But she had not counted on the nobility of
the hero. After watching over her ten
derby while she slept as heroines miracu-
lousy are able to sleep on such occasions
he picks her up and carries her back
where she belongs.
'Utterly exhausted and worn out, she
barely woke up when he placed her in her
own cold bed. Her eyes opened drowisly
(sic) once, and he bent over her and
kissed her gently.
"Little JOAN he whispered. Dear lit
tie grey girl"
"But she did not hear him. With a
tired sigh she had drifted off to sleep
again."
What makes Mutt the hodge-podge it
is, however, is that in with such romantic
drivel the author lightly turns to thoughts
Of labor and the land question and the
rights of inheritance in England. The
"dear little grey girl" for all her al
radicalism, is an out and out conservative
and reactionary when it comes to ''Bland-
ford" her "ancesterl" home as Daisy
would say, and which she tells the hero is
"ours and always has been ours" and
always must be ours if joan has to marry
fat and middle aged millionaire to
keep it.
A labor leader in the story gives labor's
side of the question, but the most inter.
esting character in the whole book, to our
mind, is a dog. 1t is pretty hard to spoil
a dog. Even Joan behaves more sensibly
when she comes into contact with Binkie.