Evening star., 1934-12-19
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
Mwgwst Csrmond.


New York: Doubleday. Doran d
Co., Inc.
A group Of men and women, per-
sonal friends with . sincere affection
for each other and o wholehearted
devotion for their weekend hostess,
find themselves at skies and sevens
with their fellow guests and, to the
amusement Of all Of them, with Lady
Midhurst. Green gooseberries. served In
ices on Friday, souffies and fools on
Saturday and hot tarts on Sunday
were certainly wrecking house party
that every one who had been invited
had ample reason to expect to be the
usual joyous and happy occasion
which . weekend at Shillington i'm
piled. The superfiuity of gooseberries
on the part Of woman who has never
been known to lapse from her reputa-
ton as a perfect hostess Is inexplicable
to her guests. There Is no indication
OF consciousness that Lady Midhurst
Is aware Of playing trick on her
friends. But there Is o limit to the
endurance Of even the most loyal OF
admirers, and the last serving Of the
pale little fruit proves to be just one
more dose than the already overheated
and exasperated company can Withstand
with the politeness due to q beloved
woman. Tempers break loose, tongues
indulge in statements that shock their
owners and those who cannot think
up plausible excuses for an immediate
return to London endeavor to forget
their misery In retirement to their
own rooms, In playing chess, or, as
In the case Of q newcomer to the
group, In fainting dead away.
Had 1t not been for the combination
OF hot weather and gooseberries it Is
likely that the secret Of Lady Terence
Chilgrove's radiant contentment with
life would never have become q factor
In the disrupting of more than one
peaceful, II not altogether happy. do
mestic establishment. Having failed to
learn during the years before death
relieved her Of her marriage to Tommy
Chilgrove that while beauty alone may
win man 1t requires more than mere
beauty to hold him, the only true hap
piness that Lady Midhurst has ever
experienced has been the unselfish de-
votion Of her daughter. Protected and
supposedly guarded from the ugliness
OF the lives Of those whose social status
Is unfortunately less superior than her
own, Terry's complacent indifference
to the attentions Of eligible and de-
sirable men who have sought her hand
In marriage since her presentation to
society and her tireless enthusiasm for
social work Is q source Of anxiety to
her mother and an unsolvable puzzle
to her friends.
A chess game, lasting far into the
night, shoves into motion q chain OF
unlooked-for events which result in
q series Of comic and semi-tragtc sit
uations SO deftly interspersed with wit
pathos and humor that the story be-
comes as fascinating and as compli-
Gated as tale Of mystery. Unable to
understand that love is no respecter
Of the conventions, and that 1t often
times exists in beauty and sanctity
where marriage Is not possible, Lady
Midhurst fees from the waggine
tongues Of London to her Jasmine farm
In France, determined to forsake the
daughter whom she believes to have
become an ignoble and unforgivable
sinner. But the overly-elegant lady
failed to reckon on the persistence OF
the mother-i r-in-law of the man respon-
sible for Terry's peculiar behavior. The
sum and substance is delightfully."- in
teresting and entertaining story, told
with logical conception Of the true
meaning Of morality in . style that d
both delicate and convincing.
DOREE, by Fanny Heaslip Lea. New
York: Dodd, Mead q Co.
Angelica Todd is one Of those pe.
culiar members Of the human racl
Possessed Of more than the averag,
allotment Of personal and materia
advantages, but whose various at
tributes Of beauty, ability and temper
ament fail to match. Nature hat
endowed her with the captivating
furthermore bestowed upon her q gif
for sculpture. But her inheritance O
character and disposition had turnet
out to be at variance with the ange
form which clothed the real girl with
In. Sweet tempered and amiable within
certain limits, beyond them she couls
be ruthless, and If pushed too far sh,
| used that weapon of self-protectior
without hesitancy or fear.
Forming plastic clay into figurine.
has been q pleasureable pastime onl,
| until the time for the fulfillment of al
arranged marriage comes too near
Aided and abetted by two genuin,
friends. Angel leaves a note of fare
well for the grandparents who hav,
given her q home apd departs from
England to make her way on her owl
In Paris. She Is not altogether Ger.
tain of what she does want, but she i.
quite sure Of two things which sh,
does not want. OF these latter. one 1.
q career and the other a life of singl.
blessedness.
She is strongly attracted to seyera
men, and more than one loves he,
until the ruthless spirit in the euis,
Of nymph comes to the surface. Blu
one near-marriage has taught her Il
beware Of uncertainty and she is de.
termined to find out for hersel
whether love Is q myth or q reality
Meanwhile she returns to her studie.
In clay in the hope that she may, 1,
necessary, become self-sppporting.
It requires courage to live 30 neal
the danger line and to survive, with
chin up, the contempt incurred through
deeds intended to be kind. One mar
heaps curses upon her, another de.
nounces her as q cheat and another
would do both If he had not cultivated
holier-than-thou smile which hi,
self-righteous dignity did not permit
him to forget. A bumpy road for An,
gel for q while, but stubborn determi
nation steers her around the pitfall,
OF her own making and finally leads K
triumph.
Miss Lea has q happy style Of pre-,
sentfng the modern girl and her prob
lens, with an ease and grace and with
| q generous understanding and sym,
pathy. Angel is typical of the count.
less young women of the postwar
generation faced with the perplexity O
trying to fit into the new world jigsav
puzzle the worn and shapeless rem
nants OF an era that has passed, q nat