Hotted-Up Love

The only novel written by travel-writer Colin Simpson, “Come Away Pearler”, has be come No. 18 of the All-Aus tralian Pacific Books in paper back. Even more intriguing than this fact was the small personal note we found in it— to the effect that certain changes to the goody-goody heroine of whom we had complained in 1952 when the book was first published, would perhaps meet our approval.

The author says that the first edition was by way of being an expurgated edition—he wasn’t satisfied with the love scenes between Ty and Leda and he has now done something about it.

The novel is a romance of the Thursday Island pearling in dustry at the end of last century based, to an extent, on the disastrous wreck of the “Quetta” in those waters.

Even without the unexpurga ted love scenes, the cover of the paper-back edition will get the readers in: A deep-sea diver looking ecstatic while being pursued by a red-haired mermaid with all the correct vital statistics. (Published by Angus and Robertson in Pacific Books; 5/6.)