Evening star., 1925-04-26

however. 1t is upon this foundation
that the inventive author rears
fantastic structure of devilish plan
and Kaleidoscope action, wherein
secret codes and sinister appearances
and sudden attacks and hairbreadth
escapes fall over one another in the
ardor of each one to itself be the
whole conspiracy. Oh, yes, to be
sure-it comes out all right for the
young man! He finds the lady, too.
THE RAvENsCROFT AFFAIR. By
Guy Thorne. New York: Edward
j. Clode
When we come upon Charlie Pen
rose here he has just been let out of
his job as cinema operator by the
management Of the Oriental Picture
Palace In Oxford street 1t is with
out question the movie complex ac-
quired by the business of Charlie
Penrose that accounts for his subse-
quent career as leading man in ad-
ventures so sensational, so bazarre,
so inconceivable as to turn THE
Ravenscroft Affair into something be
tween nightmare and an attack of
that old malady whose exterTnina-
ton viii be accredited TO the skillful
treatment of good old DR.. Volstead.
C0BWEB PALACE. BY Rosamund
Nugent. New York: D. Appleton
& Co.
A delightful story. Youth is its sub
stance and its texture. Very feelingly
and adroitly has the author stepped in
between the somewhat overevident
youth of the moment, on the one hand.
and the over-simple youth of the Polly
anna guild on the other Within the
| greenery Of this middle zone Rosa :
mund Nugent has discovered a young
glrl-sWeet, sensible, modern. full of
dreams and full of spirited action.
TOO. There are such girls, thousands
| of them. And here is one in book
With the girl there is a bey-jusr a,
| lad. We've seen him, too. Direct,
clear-eyed, kindly-a man of a boy in
| stanchness of quality. Behind them
| is the mellowed atmosphere of Oxford
| One can feel the soft beauty of the
place melting into the fabric of this
| tale of youth. And time goes on with
| change and separation among its chief
concerns. A capable and picturesque
/ handling does the author give to these
| changes, to this separation. Then.
| finally. because these two. you see, are
| real people, when a far-away meeting
| comes again-there the two are just
| the same pair that before stood hap
PLY in the shadows of the glade in
old Oxford. A beautiful story that
! has kept upon it the fragrance and
bloom of youth. .....
CHALLENGED. BY Helen r. Martin.
author of "Tillie, the Mennonite
Maid" etc. New York: Dodd, Mead
| & co.
| Again Mrs. Martin sets her story
down in the midst of the Pennsyl-
| 2 he
| reader feel his way through this pc
1 culiarly resistant locality, in order to
| follow the fortunes of the young man
| who figures as the hero of the tale
AS child he is the bone of conten-
| ton between his widowed mother, an
| outlander, and an aunt of the soil. As
man he presents somewhat the ap-
| pearance of thing that has been
] hauled and mauled by a couple of
| quarreling women. Still. he does sue.
ceed, finally, in mastering courage 10
| break away from the narrow atmos-
| phere supporting the little college
where he teaches and. what is more.
/ 10 break away from the masterful
| young woman who has chosen him for
| her mate. One has the feeling that
Mrs. Martin designs Raleigh Leinbach
10 be a protest, progressive-mayb
a radical in mildly collegiate sort Of
! way-but he fails to register in this
| capacity. However, much cannot he
| expected, either of heroism or bril-
lance or any engaging quality what
ever, with only the atmosphere of this
| Dutch community to support or sus-
tain 1t. Raleigh Leinbach is quite
all that could be required of him. And
| more than likely this is the end aimed
at in this novel. Better as a study,
one ventures, than as the hope of en-
teTtainment.