New Novels By The

Dozen Lot

New novels are piled up by the dozen lot—thanks to the holiday trade. It’s the ambition of every writer to turn out “a book for Christmas”—hence the build up of books in Aus tralasia in the December-February period.

THE holidays brought approxi mately the 31st of the Georgette Heyer Regency romances The Nonesuch.

Although Nonesuch is built to the Heyer stock recipe, fans will find it as enjoyable as the 30 which went before —even though they can have no doubt by now that the heroine will inevitably lure the high-born hero to the altar in the end.

Sir Waldo Hawkridge (The None such) inherited a West Riding property from an eccentric uncle.

When he went north to inspect it, all the local Mamas with eligible daughters put out their snares, but Sir Waldo decided to turn his in heritance into an orphanage and in doing so beat the Mamas at their own game. (THE NONESUCH. Heinemann. 22/6.) R. F. Delderfield had already made a name as a playwright ( The Worm's Eye View, etc.) when he decided, half a dozen years ago, to concentrate on novels. The Unjust Skies is the latest of them, and is a sequel to There was a Fair Maid Dwelling.

Appreciation of the last novel will remain unimpaired by not having read the first as the hero, Jan, spends a lot of time in reminiscence about his adolescent love affair with Diana, Now, in the second book, he and Diana meet again after eight years to undertake Resistance work in France—and to resume their old love affair. The novel has its merits although the author obviously could never make up his mind whether this should be an out and out cloak-and dagger job or a 20th century love story with sexy trimmings. (THE UNJUST SKIES. Hodder and Stoughton. 22/6.) Alfred Hitchcock, best known for his television series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and as a master of suspense in movie making, also assists in the collection of short thrillers in omnibus volumes. The third of these.

Stories for Late at Night, like its predecessors, is for people with strong nerves. Amongst the 22 writers contributing are Evelyn Waugh, Philip MacDonald and Ruth Chatterton.

(Stories For Late At Night.

Max Reinhardt. 25/-.) (Over)

Although he appears to have written three books in between, we haven’t heard of Alexander Fullerton since A Wren Called Smith, war-time thriller-adventure with a surprise ending. A Soldier from the Sea, newest of his novels, also has a war time setting—-the Malayan jungle after the British forces have been defeated by the Japanese.

John Farjeon finds himself in possession of information that may save the lives of 30,000 British soldiers but is alone in a Malayan village except for a beautiful Eurasian girl and two small English children.

The company only complicates the situation but how Farjeon works out his problem provides the material for some plain and fancy writing.

(Soldier From The Sea. Peter

Davies. 20/-.) Racial relationships play some part in Erskine Caldwell’s Close to Home —but only some. The Deep South

character. Native Hunnicutt, sets the stage for the typically Caldwell events when, having married the local wealthy widow, he spent the first night hunting possums and the second in the company of his coloured girl-friend. (CLOSE TO HOME. Heinemann. 20/-.) Author and readers alike must now be reaching the point of exhaustion in trying to keep up with the energetic antics of Angelique.

The fourth large tome on the subject ( Angelique in Revolt ) has just been published in English, hav ing quickly followed Angelique, Angelique and the King, and Angelique and the Sultan.

The capacity of Angelique to be here, there and everywhere at one given moment has been surpassed by only one other fictional character —Pollyanna—but there all re semblance stops.

While Pollyanna was a Victorian goodie, Angelique specialised in being a Louis XIV baddie and the four novels that have so far chronicled her career do so pretty much on a bed-to-bed basis.

In the latest of them, having just escaped the clutching hands of a Middle Eastern Sultan, she finds herself as champion of the French Huguenots leading a revolt against the King. In the end she extricates herself but—one feels—only tem porarily. Author is Sergeanne Galon. (ANGELIQUE IN REVOLT. Heinemann. 31/-.) Probably intended for younger and less sophisticated readers—although nothing on the book says so— The Log of the Sardis, by F. F. Nicholls, is a seafaring adventure story.

In time it’s the late 19th century, when steam ships also carried sails and, in this case, a new-fangled, modern gadget called a “patent log”.

The story hinges around this log and 18 years old Jim Robbins whose job it was to stream it over the side.

Jim accidentally damaged the log but kept mum. When his ship was wrecked on a Thames sandbank he blamed himself and decided on a life of crime.

(The Log Op The Sardis. Heine

mann Adventure Stories. 18/9.) Nineteenth century English comedy plot transferred to 20th century Sydney by a 19-year-old writer, Juliet Rolleston, just about describes In My Lady’s Chamber.

Juliet wrote her first novel ( Pink is for Girls) when she was 16 so there

is hope that she will grow out j whatever ails her.

Martin Walker, a poet frn Canberra (of all places), decidedt gather the material for a novel ab»c women by masquerading as a mini maid in the home of an attract*: widow—with the inevitable resulil

(In My Lady’S Chamber. Ann

and Robertson. 21/-.)