From Cincinnati comes the news that George M. Payne, telegraph editor of the "Times-Star", has been elected president of the Associated Press Editors of Ohio. Mr. Payne is also their literary editor out in Cincinnati. He has been a journalist for many years on Chicago, New York, Washington, and St. Louis papers, and a very active gentleman he is. Charles Taft sends me, from Cincinnati also, a masterpiece in the way of a circular letter. It is written by a photographer to Mr. Taft's charming wife: One has but to read the "Cincinnati Enquirer" to know the culture of our city in every respect. Cincinnati because of its recognition of the best in music, is saluted as foremost in the ranks of music lovers, likewise, it has finesse in art and literature. Justly, she is called the Queen City. A logical sequence of all this is the taste on the part of our leading women in their manner of dress and a becoming gown, be it the epitome of simplicity or of glittering gorgeousness, is such a satisfaction to the well-dressed woman. When one's gown is particularly suitable to one's type, it is a most opportune time to picture one's self. Mr. the artist and photographer, has a most unique ability in this line of endeavor and I shall be very glad to arrange for an appointment with him to portray you in your black new gown of the May Festival, etc., etc. At the wedding the bride was costumed in a beautiful fur trimmed creation of cranberry satin with accessories to match. She wore rosewood satin slippers and a corsage of roses, which gave added eclat to her already beautiful attire. The groom was ensconced in full afternoon dress. An extended honeymoon is planned for the near future which will take them into Old Mexico, where the groom has several mining interests. Here is a contest I have been telling all my poetic friends about. Several weeks ago there dropped into the Gossip Shop a benevolent gentleman in tweed knickers. On first glance I thought he had come to take me out for a game of golf, an invitation I should have been forced to refuse since I am not even an optimist * in this connection. It was John Curtis Underwood from New Mexico - not with sports on his mind but with free verse. And I say benevolent because he is giving $1,000 in poetry prizes this fall for the three best unpublished free verse poems, fifty lines or under, submitted to him before September fifteenth by an American citizen or citizens. The first prize is $499; the second, $299; and the third, $202. It was necessary to work this problem out on the office adding machine, surreptitiously, so that Mr. Underwood would not think too ill of my mathematics. When I consider the task Mr. Underwood has set himself (he is the sole judge and will read all the poems himself), I can only hope for cooler weather in Santa Fé than we shall probably have here this Another journalistic gem comes from Miss Blair says in Sada V, Blair. her letter: "Isn't there space in your department for this gem? I do not like to think of your readers as deprived of this so 'rare matrimonial surprise', accompanied as it was by the bride's 'eclat'. ... Then think of the bride's 'eclat', than which nothing but the groom's 'ensconcement' was more full. Can't you just see him?” The account follows, in part. bride, it seems, "is a writer of ability, some of her articles having appeared John Curtis Underwood, Santa Fé, . The in the more popular magazines" (doubtless more popular than THE BOOKMAN). summer. Any number of free verse poems may be submitted by one person, but manuscripts will not be returned. They should be addressed to New Mexico. *See any issue of that scintillating weekly, "The New Yorker". LOOKING AHEAD WITH THE PUBLISHERS ANY attempt to list the books to be pub- prairie. It tells of the struggle of a man and lished during August must be made with the realization that many important titles that should be included will be omitted through inadvertence, through the insufficiency of available data, or through unexpected changes in publishers' schedules. Although at this writing most publishing houses are well along with their fall plans, publication dates are still somewhat uncertain; it may, therefore, happen that some of the titles listed in these pages will be held over until early September. In a somewhat similar situation, certain commercial firms add to all statements of account a symbolic "E. & O. E." or, unabbreviated, "errors and omissions excepted". The lists that follow are offered with the same convenient reservation. Fiction lists appear to be shorter than in former years with, perhaps, a smaller number of "new" authors represented. One new author who makes an auspicious beginning is Anthony Gibbs, son of Sir Philip, the fourth member of the famous Gibbs family to enter the field of literature. His first novel "Peter Vacuum" (Dial Press) is an amusing story of a delightful though rich young American, of a greatly impoverished Earl and his charming young daughter, with an English fast set background. Another Anglo-American romance is the subject of Alice Duer Miller's "The Reluctant Duchess" (Dodd, Mead), the sprightly story of Jacqueline, an American heiress, and the Duke of Dormier, an impecunious British nobleman imported for matrimonial purposes by a socially ambitious stepmother. Unlike the usual novel of this type, Mrs. Miller's amusing little yarn is unique in its lack of a villain. The first book of a new recruit to the ranks of publishers is almost always of interest. The Viking Press has chosen as its initial publication a first novel, "Prairie" by Walter J. Muilenburg. It is a vivid picture of pioneer effort to wrest a livelihood from virgin woman against storms, snow, and prairie fire finally against the revolt of their ne'erdo-well son. Though they deserve better mention, only a few lines can be devoted to these other novels on the August lists: TABOO. Wilbur Daniel Steele. Harcourt, Brace. TALES OF INTRIGUE AND REVENGE. Stephen KUNALA. Arpad Ferenczy. Harcourt, Brace. Among the most popular of the season's books will unquestionably be "The Keeper of the Bees" by Gene Stratton-Porter. Completed by Mrs. Porter just before her tragic death last winter, it describes the romance of a war torn soldier who becomes a bee-keeper, and a mysterious veiled bride who departs five minutes after the wedding ceremony. Four other romances must be briefly described: CHICKEN WAGON FAMILY. Barry Benefield. Century. Sentimental but convincing; abounds with interesting characters. STAND BY. Caroline Cox. Harper. A modernized old-fashioned romance; Rosemary Lee slips her photograph into a sock which was to go to an unknown soldier. ST. HELIOS. Anna Robeson Burr. Duffield. Another Anglo-American romance. THE GREAT PANDOLFO. William J. Locke. Dodd, Mead. A narrative in Locke's best manner in which the irresistible Victor Pandolfo meets the immovable Paula. Michael Sadlier hails "The Unhurrying Chase" by H. F. M. Prescott (Dodd, Mead) as sure "to be recognized as one of the outstanding historical novels of the last hundred years". It is a novel of France in the romantic twelfth century. Another story with something of an historical background is "Rosalie" by Charles XII LOOKING AHEAD WITH THE PUBLISHERS "When Major (Macmillan). Mr. Major's "Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall" and Knighthood was in Flower" are outstanding examples of the successful historical romance. The present novel is about a homeopathic physician of a century ago. Hounded by a quack whom he has exposed, he is unjustlycondemned to death. Scenes such as his escape, his shipwreck with Rosalie, their life in Canada, fill this story with excitement. Noteworthy among the humorous stories to be published during August is Hilaire Belloc's "Mr. Petre" (McBride). This Petre" (McBride). This merry tale of an English gentleman's lapse of memory and the fortune that thereby befell him is somewhat on the order of Belloc's earlier story, "The Green Overcoat." Twenty-two illustrations by G. K. Chesterton add to its interest. Three other humorous stories deserve notice: MISCHIEF. Ben Travers. Doubleday, Page. JOHN MACNAB: A COMEDY FOR POACHERS. John Buchan. Houghton Mifflin. AN OCTAVE. Jeffery E. Jeffery. Little, Brown. The list of mystery and detective stories to be published during August is truly imposing. Of prime importance is "The Red Lamp" by Mary Roberts Rinehart (Doran). This is Mrs. Rinehart's first mystery story in fourteen years. Then follow ten others: THE GREAT VAN SUTTART MYSTERY. George THE RASP. Philip Macdonald. Dial Press. THAT ROYLE GIRL. Edwin Balmer. Dodd, THE CHARTERIS MYSTERY. A. Fielding. Knopf. NOMADS OF THE NIGHT. Gaston Leroux. Macaulay. THE RETURN OF ANTHONY TRENT. Wyndham Martyn. Barse and Hopkins. THE SECRET ROAD. John Ferguson. Dodd, Mead. OCTAGON HOUSE. Gertrude Knevels. Dodd, Mead. Bon and Liveright predict for Gertrude Atherton's "The Crystal Cup" the greatest success of her career. The story is about the transformation of a woman with a frozen heart into a woman who can know love and passion. Two books passion. Two books presenting psychopathic studies are also on their list: "Across the Moon" by Hamish Macleod and Harold Loeb's "Doodab". The first is about a man who could not withstand the horrors of war and finally, in losing his mind, finds a land of beauty and wonder: the second is of a man futile in actual life who builds for himself a world of dreams in which he is KEPT. Alec Waugh. A. and C. Boni. A story of post-war London, of night clubs, of fragile women and their attendant or errant lovers. A LADY OF NEW ORLEANS. Edwina Levin MacDonald. Macaulay. From New Orleans a "lost" lady wanders across the world with her unworthy lover but is, of course, restored to happiness and virtue at the end. THE HAPPY FAILURE. Solita Solano. Putnam. Youth's rebellion against the conventional. THE HEART OF SALOME. Allen Raymond. Small, Maynard. A notorious but virtuous heroine "moves with sensuous grace and sophisticated beauty" against a Parisian background; "swift action . . . throbbing passion". ELLEN ADAIR. Frederick Niven. Boni, Liveright. A picture of a Scotch middle-class family and their "unmoral not immoral" daughter. AT THE SIGN OF THE GOAT AND COMPASSES. Martin Armstrong. Harper. The reader, Godlike, surveys and understands the blind gropings of four men and four women. Three translations of the work of foreign novelists will be published during August. Jean Cocteau's "The Grand Écart" deals with the adventures, amorous and otherwise, of a sentimental, rather raw young man in Paris. Paul Morand's "Lewis & Irene" (Boni, Liveright) is a highly spiced, ironical novel of post-war European capitals. "Life Begins To-Morrow" is by Guido da Verona, the celebrated Italian novelist (Dutton). Continuing a development of recent years, biographies are largely to the fore. WhatWhatever the cause, and many reasons have been given, the general public is now showing greater interest in books of this kind than ever before. The record of forty five years at sea is graphically unfolded in Sir Bertram Hayes' "Hull Down: Reminiscences of Wind-jammers, Troops, and Travellers" (Macmillan). It is the story of a life full of incident and action: first on sailing vessels voyaging to Calcutta, Australia, and across the Pacific; then in command of a transport during the Boer War; of great Atlantic liners; of the Olympic during the memorable days of the World War, including the ramming of a German submarine; and his last command, the German monster Bismarck - re-christened the Majestic. J. Lucas-Dubreton's "Samuel Pepys, A Portrait in Miniature" translated from the French by H. J. Stenning (Putnam) is done in the modern biographical manner. To those who have failed to make the acquaintance of the fascinating Pepys because they have been daunted by the vast bulk of his famous "Diary", this book will serve to introduce one of the most interesting personalities of all time. And in it those who already know their Pepys will find fresh enjoyment. Pepys the scandalous, human pys lives again in its pages. Five other biographies are on the August Innumerable manuals have been prepared for new babies and new mothers, Fairfax Downey's thoughtful work, "Father's First Two Years" (Minton, Balch), will now offer a helpful guide to new fathers. It supplies detailed information on the preparations necessary for fatherhood, in his finances, in his state of mind, and in his wardrobe and personal habits. Particularly useful will be found the suggestions on the care of the child, on traveling with young (on trains or with perambulators) and on their entertainment. Even the veteran father will find much of practical value in the pages of this pioneer volume. Joan Parkes has done an admirable piece of work in bringing together the material for her extremely interesting "Travel in England in the Seventeenth Century" (Oxford). It is patently the result of endless labor: that one hundred and ninety eight authors were consulted in its preparation is just one example. Fifty illustrations provide a colorful contrast with travel conditions of today. Eight other travel books, but of modern days: FROM MELBOURNE TO Moscow. G. C. Dixon Little, Brown. THE ROMANCE OF MONTE CARLO. Charles: Kingston. Dodd, Mead. GREEN ISLANDS IN GLITTERING SEAS. W. Lavallin Puxley. Dodd, Mead. ACROSS EUROPE WITH SATANELLA. dan. Dodd, Mead. Clare Sheri THE JOURNAL OF A JEWISH TRAVELLER. Israel Cohen. Dodd, Mead. Helena Smith Day WALKS IN ROME. J. C. Hare. Dutton. "The Book of Earth" (Stokes), the second volume of Alfred Noyes' triology, "The Torch Bearers", tells in narrative verse the progress of scientific discovery through the ages. SELECTED POEMS OF CHARLES HANSON TOWNE. Appleton. Several new pieces have been added to a selection of the poetry which Mr. Towne wished to preserve from his previous books. AZUNCENA. M. de Gracia Concepción. Putnam.. Poems in English by a young Filipino. XIV LOOKING AHEAD WITH THE PUBLISHERS STARSHINE AND CANDLELIGHT. Sister Mary Anything written by Sir Arthur QuillerCouch, the "Q" of many famous novels of thirty-odd years ago and now the King Edward VII Professor of English Literature in the University of Cambridge, is certain to be both interesting and informative. "Charles Dickens and Other Victorians" (Putnam) is a volume that will appeal to all who enjoy exquisite critical perception combined with distinguished style. Sir Arthur writes at length of Dickens and Thackeray. Briefer essays discuss "The Victorian Background," Disraeli, Mrs. Gaskell, and Anthony Trollope. Four other volumes of literary criticism should also prove of particular interest to many BOOKMAN readers: LECTURES ΤΟ LIVING AUTHORS. "Lacon." Houghton Mifflin. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE POET SHELLEY. Edward Carpenter and George Barnefield. Dutton. FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Llewellyn Jones. Knopf. THE MODERN ENGLISH NOVEL. Abel Chevalley. Knopf. Dr. Morris Fishbein, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, examines cults and fads, through which human ills are capitalized by quacks and pseudoscientists, in "The Medical Follies" (Boni, Liveright). "New Cancer Facts" by David Masters (Dodd, Mead) sets forth in popular and intelligible form for the layman the results of the very latest cancer research. "Eating and Health" by Dr. James J. Walsh (Stratford) presents a new viewpoint on an old question. Among the many re-issues and new editions scheduled for publication this month, two that are particularly important are the work of Louis Becke: "Under Tropic Skies" and "The Strange Adventures of James Shervington" (Lippincott). Pirate, slavetrader, adventurer, Becke knew the real South Seas of the romantic past. Today these books should appeal to a far wider audience than when first published about twenty years ago. Dodd, Mead are adding five volumes of Anatole France in pocket-size: "Mother of Pearl", "My Friend's Book", "Crainquebille", "The Bride of Corinth", "Pierre Nozière". An unusual limited edition of Parkman's "The Oregon Trail" is being issued by Little, Brown. It contains five reproductions in photogravure of drawings made by Frederic Remington in 1892, and five plates in color from paintings recently completed by N. C. Wyeth. Eleven other titles on this list of re-issues are: FORTY YEARS OF IT. Brand Whitlock. Appleton. CREATIVE CRITICISM. J. E. Spingarn. Harcourt, Brace. THE LOG OF THE SNARK. Charmion London. Macmillan. COLLECTED POEMS OF RUPERT BROOKE. Dodd, Mead. YESTERDAY'S WITH FAMOUS AUTHORS. James T. Fields. Houghton Mifflin. THE MIND IN THE MAKING. James Harvey Robinson. Harper. SHAKESPEARE'S THEATRE. Ashley H. Thorndike. Macmillan. THE FAIR REWARDS. Thomas Beer. Knopf. RED BADGE OF COURAGE. Stephen Crane. Appleton. EARLY POEMS AND STORIES. William Butler Yeats. Macmillan. LADY SUSAN. Jane Austen. Oxford. An important addition to the American Library is "Jesuit Relations" edited by Edna Kenton (A. and C. Boni). In one convenient volume, edited out of seventy three, these chronicles of Jesuit pioneers furnish a most interesting picture of the French regime in America. Angelo Patri has an established reputation as an authority on the problems of childhood. Both parents and teachers will be helped to a better understanding of their jobs by his "School and Home" (Appleton). Mr. Patri's keen insight into child psychology is reflected on every page. Friction between child and teacher is usually the direct result of lack of co-operation by parent with teacher; the author's aim is to point ways for this co-operation in the interest of the child. -E. G. S. |