Fiction
Art, Photography, and " Movies "
7s. 6d.) Spider Boy. By Carl Van Vechten. (Knopf. 7s. 6d.)
OF these six novels, only the first two pretend to represent life as it is. Yet The Invader and The Matriarch are widely different. The latter gives us verisimilitude, for Mr. Lloyd- Jones's method is that of photography. But Miss Vaughan
is an artist, and her book is illumined by that inner spiritual glow which heightens reality and produces not merely fact, but truth. The Invader is a very sensitive and beautiful piece of work. It is not quite free from caricature. But it presents, upon the whole, a balanced and convincing study of human wills in conflict. The scene is laid in Wales. Daniel Evans is a self-made man, who, by dint of heroic industry not unalloyed with cunning, has risen to the tenancy, and aspires to the ownership, of Plas Newydd farm. But the farm belongs to Miss Webster, a middle-aged Folkestone spinster, who has been a teacher in an agricultural college during the War.
When, therefore, this somewhat grim lady decides to make Plas Newydd her own residence, battle is joined between her and Evans, and the fight involves the fortunes of other admir- ably drawn characters, including the Squire and his charming niece, the young local doctor, an ex-gamekeeper, who is employed as a spy by both the contending parties, and the voluptuous but cool-headed Maiy Anne Jones Cefnllan, 'who succeeds in outwitting even Evans's mother, who has hitherto kept her burly, fiery, and otherwise fearless son in abject subjection to herself. Miss Vaughan gives us drama and humour in abundance. She can also be pathetic without being sloppy, and idyllic without becoming sentimental. She 'gets, moreover, the very atmosphere of the Welsh countryside— and perhaps, for the equanimity of some of her Celtic readers, too much of the Welsh temperament—into her pages. The Invader displays an unusual variety of gifts, excellently poised. The " Matriarch " of Mr. Lloyd-Jones's title is a vivacious widow, living with her two daughters in a flat in Queen's Gate Gardens. Charming but not too scrupulous, alert yet hating everything she cannot understand, Mrs. Booth- Quentin is a familiar enough type. She lives to no small extent upon her admirer, Rowley Forrester, a cynical, kindly, cultured, fastidious roué, to whose son Geoffrey, a publicity agent, her elder daughter becomes married. The story lacks any unifying motif or any imaginative significance. But its observation is accurate, and as a rather literal transcriber from life Mr. Lloyd-Jones shows considerable skill and verve.
The account of the early matrimonial difficulties of Geoffrey and Marion is particularly convincing.
Mrs. Williamson transports us to Hollywood, and her novel itself has caught the spirit of the " movies." It is all very hustling, intriguing, and impossible. Malcolm Allister, a " best-seller," goes to Hollywood to produce a film. He fails to give satisfaction, and is downhearted. His annoyance is turned to real despair when he hears that his prim aunt, Lady Gates, is coming from England to look after him. Since the death of her husband, however, Lady Gates has changed. Malcolm finds her rejuvenated and agog for excitement; which soon comes her way. Marco Lopez, a professional dancer from the Argentine, falls in love with her—or, rather, with her pearls. Eventually, Lady Gates is murdered, and sus- picion settles upon Malcolm, who is only saved by the beautiful
girl who so strangely enters his life in the first chapter of a tale brimful of mystery, movement, and colour.
" Movie-Land," again, is the scene of Spider Boy. The hero of this extravagant comedy is a shy American writer who has made a great hit with a play. Seeking escape from publicity, he accepts an invitation to visit a friend in the West. But, changing trains at Chicago, he meets some film stars. Overcome by their blandishmepts, he soon finds
himself, much against his will, at Hollywood, where many remarkable adventures befall him. The humour may be too
broad for many English readers, but the story is excellent fun of its kind.
The two remaining books are detective tales. Both are good, though The Secret Trail, with its thief set to catch thieves, is the more conventional. Jimmie Rezaire, the notorious criminal, is released from prison and is hatching fresh profes- sional schemes when he is accidentally provided with clues bearing upon a. capital Mystery that is perplexing Scotland Yard. Seeing more profit in helping than in hindering the police, this humorous and engaging " crook " puts his Unique experience at their disposal, and, having proved himself a first- rate Secret Service man, settles down to a life of virtue.
The Havering Plot is concerned with a new English experi- ment in military aircraft. Spies threaten the success of a well-guarded secret. But, after various false scents have been followed, guilt is brought home to a number of domestic servants employed at his Suffolk seat by a public man whose War record had won him a high reputation for patriotism. He is an example of dual personality—but we must not reveal too much. The story is not only a capital " yarn," but is strong is characterization and atmosphere. The eeriness of the lone East Anglian marshes is admirably suggested.
G,ILBERT THOMAS.
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