Evening star., 1936-10-21
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
MARGARET GERMOND.
A PRAYER FOR MY SON. BY Hugh
Walpole. New York: Doubleday,
Doran 6y IN

AOAuA ck W.
The name Of Mr.. Walpole on the title
page Of q book carries with it the assur-
ance that the pages which follow, no
matter what the subject may be, will
be worth reading. He is an accom-
plished writer, whose genius has found
expression In several forms of literary
output, and fundamental part of whose
ability lies in his broad and sympathetic
understanding of many types Of human
beings as well as Of the forces which
direct their lives and their destinies. In
his deep humanity, plus his skill as q
craftsman, lies the strength that has
characterized the long list of works which
have come from his pen.
On previous occasions Mr.. Walpole
has, with warm-hearted understanding,
devoted his talent to stories about chill
dren. And on these excursions into the
Juvenile mind he has invariably brought
back something fine, wholesome and en-
during. He returns to the child theme
In this latest novel and presents as its
central figure twelve-year-oldb boy whose
unmarried mother had surrendered him
to the care Of his paternal grandfather
IN circumstances which logic always die
tates as the best policy in the opinion
OF every one except the mother, whose
already battered heart must bear also
the anguish of separation.
In the years that have passed since
Rose Clennell relinquished her child to
Colonel Fawcus, life at Scarfe Hall has
very definitely nodded the thoughts and
development OF the little lad and kept
them strictly within the channels pre-
Scribed by the aging colonel. Perhaps
the old man does not mean to be a
tyrant, but he is possessed Of an ego
which has for years kept him firm in
the belief that he is the lord of the
district. The traditions of generations
have become gospel The restraints and
convictions OF other ages still prevail,
and there is no compromise with q
changing order. There Is no welcome
for strangers, nor is there any attempt
to foster in the heart of the boy any
love for the mother he has never known.
The law of possession and the power
which possession brings are the gods
Of the head Of Scarfe Hall, and John
must grow up with firm belief in these
threadbare, worthless traditions and con-
victions.
The lad is twelve years old when Rose
Clennell is invited by Colonel Fawcus to
visit Scarfe Hall. What is the reward
for those dreary years Of heartache and
longing and hope? She is a stranger to
her son. He cannot accept this unknown
woman, who has never come to him be-
fore and who has never written to him,
as mother. He has wanted q mother,
one comparable with the mothers of the
boys Of his acquaintance. But he can
neither understand the reasons for the
long silence nor receive with affection
this stranger about whom he has little
knowledge.
1t Is not difncult to foreSee the out
come Of this unusual triangle of hopes
and allegiances, but from the moment
that Rose realizes that her sons love
must be won, this fine, strong story ar
rests the attention of the reader and
holds it to the end. Many other inter-
eSting and entertaining characters, typi-
cal of the English scene, contribute to the
warmth and color of the background.
But it is in Rose Clennell's consciousness
Of the need of "a prayer for my son"
that the strength and the beauty of this
heart Of humanity.
RETURN OF A HEROINE. BY Mar
guerite Steen. Indianapolis: The
Bobbs-Merrill Co.
About the kindeSt comment that can
be made about this novel Is that Mar
guerite Steen had brainstorm and that
she Is perhaps to be congratulated be-
cause it spent itself in the form of q
novel and thus relieved her mind of a
fictional burden which must have been
unpleasant to carry. 1t is
difficult to imagine why the author of
two such picturesque novels as "The
Tavern" and "Matador," staged amid the
color and romance of pre-revolutionary
Spain, should move into the back streets
Of London for q subject that has MOTH
ing to recommend 1t and much to con-
denim it.
Briefly, the story makes an unintelli-
gent effort to present the practice of
euthanasia as q problem of major i'm
portance. No sane person can today
make the prediction that the subject
will never become a matter for serious
But it is safe to say
that it will not reach proportions Of
concern in the near future, and that
when it does its foundations will not
rest upon this exposition of the affairs
of the Jordan family or the return Of
one of it's members to the wide-open
world
Phoebe Jordan, the heroine who re-
turns to unfettered civilization after two
years in prison, finds the whole Of Eng
land divided into two camps concerning
the act for which she was tried. convicted
and sentenced. To one group she Is
heroine. q symbol of courage and
strength, the hope Of q humanitarian
cause. To the other group she is
criminal for whom no mercy should be
granted. Her family belongs to the
latter group. The net result is an ac-
of venomous hatred that
breaks down the slender barriers Of
family decency and flows freely through
D series Of episodes which drive Phoebe
into the arms Of the other camp, where
she fiourishes amid alteration and
luxury.
Cold, calculating and utterly selfish,
Phoebe nurses her grudge against those
whose hatred for her is no stronger than
her contempt for them, until she de-
velops an overwhelming passion for
power over those who have befriended
her. Eventually she becomes the COM
plete egomaniac. And having put her
through the PAGES to the heights of this
state of mental and moral de-
generacy, Miss Steen leaves her to make
Of readers Of fiction.