Reviews.

“Chateaubriand,” by André Maurois (Jonathan Cape) is a brilliant biography of the great French Romantic. Maurois has written a number of great biographies but, as might be expected, none with greater zest and understanding than this portrait of his most picturesque countryman. We are taken right into the heart of Chateaubriand to have revealed to us all his greatness and all his pettiness. And in the background move all the stirring events of the Revolution and the giant figures of the age, the popes, the cardinals, the Kings, the statesmen, the revolutionaries—and Bonaparte. Against the roar of guns and the rattle of sabre and the shouts of the mob the pen of Chateaubriand was always at work. Added to the pen and the sword was another terriffic influence, that of the wonderful women of the period. Hearts beat high in those colourful years and many a female heart fell to the charms of Chateaubriand. Truly he was an extraordinary lover, and his final love for Juliette Recamier is one of the most interesting pages in the world's great love stories. Although adored by many women, although stirring the pulse of the Empire with his pen and his personality Chateaubriand appears as a haunted, unhappy man; he yearns for inward peace and it comes only with the grave.

Here indeed are all the ingredients of a great biography. Subject and writer could not have been better mated. We see a great man's soul, we watch the mighty panorama of the period and we learn many lessons.

“The British Annual of Literature” (The British Authors' Press) makes its first appearance in a nicely producedvolume. The publication left me wondering as to why such an imposing title should be representative of just a few writers and some of them not exactly in the front rank of the literary world. We find some of the writers responsible for more than one article or poem and this, in a list of about a dozen contributors. Nevertheless this is an interesting and well-written annual and includes a fine tribute to our Dunedin poet and novelist, C. R. Allen, articles on the Australian novel, on contemporary literature, the literary achievement of Dr. Douglas Hyde and the People's National Theatre. Two great English novelists, Rudyard Kipling and E. M. Forster (and how many in New Zealand are aware of the true greatness of the latter?) are discussed in an article, “English Interpreters of India.” New Zealand writers will be interested in the literary competitions announced in the Annual.

“Early Days in Dunedin,” by Robert Gilkison (Whitcombe & Tombs Ltd.) is something different from the measured historical record the title suggests. The book is more in the nature of a series of highlights from the history of the southern city. For this reason the book will have a wider appeal, particularly to the younger generation. Among some of the purple patches is an account of the Jarvey Murder, a chapter on the Robert Butler episode, the story of Amy Bock, also details of big fires, wrecks, and libel actions, etc., of the period. Much general historical data is also included. The book is written in a quaint, old world style.

“The Sino-Japanese Conflict,” by Tom Walsh (Angus & Robertson, Sydney) claims to be an accurate and unbiassed picture of the relations of China and Japan with the powers, and of those phases of their histories that have led to the present conflict. States Sir Arthur Rickard in the introduction: “From the evidence presented here, it is clear that the long sleep of Asia is ended, and for good or ill the world is certain to be faced with the active participation of both Japan and China in world events.”

* * *