Hanover Browsing
IT was pleasant to get letters during Christmas vacation from as-far-remmoved places as the Marshall Islands and Lebanon, Syria, from Dr. Dunham Kirkham '33 and William A. Eddy respectively, saying that they both follow HanoverBrowsing. These cannot be easy places to get most of the books mentioned in this column, but I am glad both find some helpful suggestions.
Thomas Beers '34 sent me once again the Lakeside Press Christmas book for 1954. This was Gabriel Franchère's AVoyage to the Northwest Coast of America, first published in 1854. As usual, this is beautifully printed and competently edited; and has maps and illustrations. From 1811 to 1814 Franchère adventured around the Horn to the Pacific Northwest and returned through the country north of the Canadian border, a country with which many must be familiar. I find the book just to my taste.
Roger Williams Straus Jr., the publisher, sent me a copy of The IntelligentHeart: The Story of D. H. Lawrence, by Harry T. Moore, who is now chairman of the Department of History and Literature at Babson Institute. This strikes me as being the first full story of the turbulent life of D. H. Lawrence, a much-disputed literary figure of this century. Mr. Moore goes back to original sources and origins to reconstruct Lawrence's early life, his close association with his mother, his early loves, his school teaching, and so on. There are vivid snapshots of Bertrand Russell, Aldous Huxley, Norman Douglas, J. Middleton Murry, Mabel Dodge Luhan, and others, who crossed his ill-starred path. About two hundred Lawrence letters are quoted for the first time in this volume, which makes it a necessity for any serious student of Lawrence. There are illustrations, and though the style is not glistening, it is eminently readable, and I found myself enjoying every page.
Speaking of glistening styles reminds me to recommend a biographical gem, recently reprinted, Lord David Cecil's TheYoung Melbourne. It is difficult to describe the curious fascination of this book. With a few deft strokes Lord David Cecil illumines Lady Melbourne, Caroline Ponsonby (Lady Caroline Lamb), Lord Byron, and others, with an effect little short of magical. I can hardly wait to get hold of his latest book, Lord M, which carries Melbourne's life to its close.
For those interested in the subject I can recommend Walter Allen's The EnglishNovel, published in London by Phoenix House Ltd. This book covers the subject from the beginnings to D. H. Lawrence. I thought what he had to say about Conrad was especially discerning.
I have in hand Sir Edward Spears' sequel to his already famous Prelude to Dunkirk, telling of the liaison between France and England during World War II. This is The Fall of France: June 1940, and tells of this mournful event up to the time that Spears gets de Gaulle into England. This is an important book about the history of our times, and one that will throw considerable light on the story of what is happening in France today.
From Vince Jones '52 came a pleasant little book on Oxford which, recalled many happy personal memories. I trust that Vince is familiar with the inside of Black- wells on Broad Street. I envy him his opportunity, eminently deserved, to be in that magical city.
For those who like near perfection in a book I recommend Marguerite Yourcenar's prize-winning novel (in translation), Hadrian's Memoirs, perhaps the best book, in the sense of satisfying artistry, that Farrar, Straus and Young ever published. It is a marvellously delicate re-creation of a person and an epoch.
For adults and young people both I can recommend Nelson Beecher Keyes' TheAmerican Frontier (Hanover House) which is an anecdotal history of our country from Leif Ericsson to the end of the frontier which came toward the end of last century.
The Museum of Modern Art's most recent book may be again recommended: Masters of Modern Art, by Alfred H. Barr Jr.
Robert H. Bates and Dr. Charles S. Houston are well known to many Dartmouth men. Their tale of The SavageMountain (McGraw-Hill), which claimed the life of one of the party, Arthur K. Gilkey, to whom the book is fittingly dedicated, measures up, in general, to the usual high standards of Himalayan books. The movies of this expedition were among the best mountain pictures this reviewer has ever seen. The book, too, is pictorially vivid, and tells of the dangers and disasters met with calm courage and great skill. That more lives were not lost is a miracle. K2 later fell to the Italians, led by Ardito Desio, but it might have fallen to Bates and Houston if it hadn't been for bad weather, which has defeated the best many times before this.
