Evening star., 1933-09-06
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
Margaret CermOnd.

Lindsay. Boston: Little. Brow
& Co.
Following the present tendency towar,
turning back to the pages of history TO
subjects adaptable to the current tast,
for semi-romantic literature, Mr.. Phihl
Lindsay has dipped into the archives o
nearly four hundred years ago and pro
duced Catherine Howard, fifth Queen O
Henry VIII. as the heroine Of his new
novel.
Perhaps the author did not intend tx
modernize either the inglorious King OF
his young and beautiful fifth wife
There is no indication given anywhere
that such was his purpose except thai
he gives Katharine" as the spelling o.
the name, which gives authority for tht
general use of Kate" by those on term!
intimate enough to think OF her as her.
self and not as the Queen. But both Of
these individuals as they are drawn anC
developed in this highly interesting move
are decidedly modern, despite the au-
thentic background and the accurate re.
lation Of some Of the events Of recorded
history.
1t would never do, Of course, in 9
|
of another day as characters as black
as the deeds which they are known to
have committed. And in the light of
modern thought and judgment there is
plenty of reason not only to accept but
to encourage in a measure this attitude
on the part OF writers. For, after ALL
most OF the crimes attributed to this
particular Catherine, as well as to
hundreds OF other women and men OF
her day, for which they lost their heads,
were largely acts of indiscretion which
today are regarded as hardly more than
mlsdemeanors. Kingdoms and thrones
were at stake in GATHERINGS time, how
ever, and slight errors of behavior were
likely to lead to stupendous results.
Mr.. Lindsay does not picture Cath
crime as an altogether innocent and
angelic creature. He gives ample room
to doubt her sincerity and her honor
on many occasions. At the same time
he presents a figure which appeals tc
the sympathies and which makes fol-
a more generous understanding of the
passions and intrigues, the petty jeal-
ousies and the enormous capacity fol
revenge which were bred within the
Kings court
Catherine was young and beautiful
and, like all other girls of her age and
| grace, had known several lovers before
she married the King. Henry Manox
Thomas Culpepper and Francis Dare-
ham were all well known to her in her
| youth, and certainly the two former
had been lovers before her marriage
! These relationships are not credited to
Catherine by Mr.. Lindsay until after
she became Queen. That she used
these lovers to her own purposes, and
that she was part and parcel of the
! highly colored and hideously rotten life
OF the court is a matter of record. But
with the softening of all of the char
acters taking prominent part in the
/ novel, the author creates a new spirit
of sympathy and understanding of
Catherine, and even of the King
| 1t is bit difficult to readjust the
thought to Henry VIII with his greed
intolerance. lust and cruelty tempered
by an underlying spirit of tender ro-
nance and domesticity. Yet, if assid-
uously hunted for, there is most likely
| to be found the same complex in the
| natures of many characters who rode to
fame through their diabolic deeds Un-
doubtedly there are today many scores
/ Of citizens despiSed and feared because
| of their apparent joy in the infliction
Of suffering upon others who possess
another nature which lavishly bestows
| gentleness and kindliness And just
as surely are there many individuals
highly respected and esteemed for their
| noDleness and beauty of character who
privately indulge in fiendish cruelty.
So it is possible that Henry VIII may
have been no blackcr than Mr.. Lindsay
paints him, and if such novels as this
one serve genuinely to increase knowl-
/ edge and to give a broader and more
| generous insight into the characters of
| men and women whose fame has been
more inglorious than otherwise, they
are very much worth while. 1t must
always be remembered that beheadine
was the custom for many centuries and
that but a slight offense and often
only an imagined offense was sufficient
cause to bring such punishment
~
DEATH OUT OF THE NIGHT. By
Anthony Wynne. Philadelphia: j. B.
Lippincott Co.
Eileann Patrick, the home of Sir Dun
can Mackenzie, is the scene of an
extraordinary murder It Is really a
| traditional murder, although death in
the circumstances which marked such
occasions had always before been be-
lieved to be the hand of vengeance
striking down traitor to the clan Sir
Duncan was the owner of a silver
loving cup, an ancient relic bearing an
almost illegible Gaelic inscription which
had been interpreted to mean that any
traitor drinking from it would imme-
diately die.
Sir Duncan was found dead. with the
Ncup in his hands. Three persons were
within speaking distance of him when
he fell to the floor but no one was
seen to enter or leave the room imme-
diately before or after. Every one on
the estate is accounted for at the time
of the death. and almost every one was
in position to see and note the be-
Eavior of every one else.
Col. Wickham of Scotland Yard is
soon on the scene. and then Miss
Bridget Mackenzie daughter of the
dead man. sends for Dr. Eustace HALEY
friend. whose kindly help and guild
ance she feels she needs. Eileann Pat
rick is situated on an island springing
cut of the great cliffs off the coast Of
Scotland, and is difficult to reach
Therefore much that might be useful
in presenting clues could easily be dis
posed of hours before the arrival of
investigators.
Clues, indeed, remain lacking through
out the story though plenty of appar-
emily conclusive evidence points to
various individuals in the beginning.
So strong is some of the evidence that
it is quite certain two young men are
to be arrested and charged with the
murder of their host. One of them is
the fiance of Bridget Mackenzie and
the other is the fance of Daphne
Scmervel. foster daughter of Ralph
Mackenzie, brother of the murdered
man.
Requesting a conference with inves-
tigators, one of these young men enters
room few seconds ahead of them
and on their arrival he is found dead.
with the silver loving cup near his right
hano. Identically the same sort of
wound on the head that Sir Duncan
suffered is found on the skull of Capt.
Dreeme. With the change of circum-
stances there is change also in sus-
poets. and from that point the case
becomes one of complexities and cross