Evening star., 1936-06-17
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
BY MARGARET CERMOND.

WHAT LEFT UNSAID. BY Daisy,
Princess of PleSs. New York: z. p.
Dutton q Co.
From European politics and the men
and women who for more than genera
tion were identified with the march of
events that reached a climax In 1914
and drenched the world with blood, the
Princess of PleSS turns now to the other
side of the picture and presents an
intimate view of her own life as an
individual and an observer, and as the
friend of countless human beings in all
grades of society.
Encouraged by the success of her two
previous volumes and the sincere re-
quests of many of her readers for more
than she had told, the princess sat by
the fire and began the writing Of
collection of "reminiscences that would
show more of the warmth and generosity
in the hearts of the great and the
lowly, the leaders and their followers,
the politicians and their victims. And
with it all should go the fantastic story
of her own life in the royal households
of Europe.
The private life of any individual
would, if written by skilled artist with
a mind free from malice or prejudice,
make story more entertaining and more
impressive than any fictional romance
that the most fertile imagination could
produce. Unfortunately, only a few
biographers possess the qualities which
make possible the fine distinction be-
tween truth and vulgarity which so
delicate task requires. And even fewer
are those who, possessing the ability to
write, have the courage to lay bare the
truth about themselves.
Princess Daisy is one of these few,
and to spend several hours reading her
own story of her life is nearly the
equivalent of a personal visit with the
charming lady herself and of the priv
ilege of enjoying with her the lively
hours of her childhood and youth and
of rejoicing in the escapades for which
she became known as the Princess
Caprice"
A beautiful and fascinating woman
attracts lovers as naturally as the sun
flower perpetually faces its master. Why
deny it, or even pretend that it does not
happen? The princess prefers the truth,
and she tells it, She applies to the men
who adored her the same abstract analy-
sis with which she contemplates the
members of her family, her friends, the
politicians of yesterday and today and
the extraordinary age in which she has
lived. Some hint of the frankneSs and
honesty and genuine good nature that
gives a distinctive character to these
unconventional memoirs is to be had in
remembering the audacity with which
she wounded the vanity and threw over
board the dignity of many European
notables in her previous books. Even
in those chapters which told of her
experiences during the Great War, in
the hospitals and on hospital trains, of
her association with Kaiser Wilhelm,
whose loyal friendship never faltered,
and other notableS, and of the days when
she was deSpised and mistrusted by the
Germans because she was an English
woman, there was no sparing of truth
in her appraisal of men or of affairs,
and no malice or bitterness toward in
dividuals.
More politicians and leaders of world
affairs are scheduled to suffer a loss of
dignity as Princess Daisy turns the laugh
upon them and appraiSes them at their
true value in this new book. She is no
fool in the matter of politics, at home
or abroad, and the story of her highly
instructive discussions with the present.
day leaders of world affairs and her
frankly expressed opinions concerning
the stupidity with which these sup
poSedly great minds meet the issues upon
which national and international Sc
curity depend reflect the shrewdness of
her own mind and the accuracy of her
vision.
The book is largely made up of per-
sonal letters from friends, relatives,
royal associates and those of superior
intelligence who are engaged in shaping
the deStinitieS of nations. Men, per-
haps, will not like the ridiculing of their
noble brothers upon whom fate has
conferred high honors. But, then, they
never have enjoyed knowing that their
tranSparencieS are too obvious to be
overlooked by any smart woman. The
ever, for she is still hoping to know a
great man"
THE TREVAIS. BY Sarah Larkin.
Montreal: Renouf Publishing Co.
Here is tale Of Quebec, told in verse
by the same author whose Three
4eAECAo, d4SO W11ttCL III fCIOc, WAS &C
corded a warm welcome among the
people who knew it's soil and its char
acter types.
Although a New Yorker, Miss Larkin
has lived for long periods among the
Canadians and has become an authority
on the territory comprising Quebec and
the Valley of the Saint Maurice. A novel
in verse, even short novel, is not easy
writing, yet here is an exceptionally
fine romance which traces the fortunes
of two families from the days of the
earliest settlement in Quebec to the
return of her valiant sons from the
Great War. From the life and the
spirit of the hardy race which has
contributed unstintedly to the progress
of Western civilization, is drawn with
fine, and some times dramatic, distinc-
tion the hardihood and loyalty of a
people believing in the land and in its
own destiny.