1951-09-15 — Page 5

You'll forget the lot -as you forgot Michael Arlen

TEST OF GREATNESS-2

continuing a Saturday series in search of the highest standard of achievement... today among the novelists

by JAMES LEASOR

OW great are they- NOVEL, something that enter-

these 1961 novelista falns.

H

whose succcuses cul- cade in gay book jackets in every bookseller's window? How many will be read (or even remembered) years from now?

100

Check the lint and build Our standards of greatness as we go.

To

sweet-sucking the romance reader, Ruby M, Ayres is "great," and so indeed any woman must be who earns & Ave-figure salary every year by mild and biterless prose.

read

But there are no indications that her books will be read a century from now any more than Mrs Gaskell's are today.

The Shorter Oxford Dle- tionary defines great as per taining to someone "cminent in point of attainments* achlevements," and by reason of her achievement 103 novels, £20,000 a year) Miss Ayres is Crest.

ог

But output is not the only consideration, Nor 11 con- temporary fame or notoriety.

Vitality

LET the writers

themselves

of

There is also u changeling Public Taste element, called Ly come, and Luck by others. Yesterday's famous stories P. G. Wodehouse. Phillips Wallace, Oppenheim, Edgar John Buchan, all seem oddly uuted today.

class

Daphne Cà Maurier/ biggest money-spinner in her ther Intest novel, "My Cousin Rachel, sold 95,- in its Arst 000 week), is aware of this fickle ele ment.

She Twenty

says:

Rive

years ago every- one was reading Michael Arlen.

Great Indaraan

Ho was great A. . Oricin then, SO overy.

Bul people want one said,

..the writers who can mirror way they live now.

"That's why Nancy Mitford is so popular, She catches perfectly the modern spirit of quiet debunking. I don't think there are many really great writers left, though, of course, there's Charles Morgan...."

The old-timers in the Inky Defoc. Dic- nrt Smollett,

kens,

serious

-

Thackeray

Jacked competition Their numes shine like beacons be- think chuse there was so little olher' are the qualities of greatnessght.

home what

in their trade,

they

GILES

THE VINA MAIL, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1951,

ON HOLIDAY

DELIVERS HIS CARTOON

"Wait till you see our station-.you'll see why you're wasting your time telling me to hurry."

Landon Express Bervice

They danced boogie-woogie in perukes and crinolines

Seven Hundred

Party Of The

Venice.

The

Attend Century

From EVEYLN IRONS

THE last of the 700 guests at Mr Charles de Beistegul's fantastic Compton Mackenzie, gramo- The names of today's great pre-French revolution mask- phone - playing, Siamese-cal struggle together to share the ed ball arranged themselves loving author of a generation light: Hemingway Waugh-

gracefully in their gondolas of good books, some ("Sinister ursly the greatest satirist

whisky

Gatore") the day-Dos l'asson,

O'Hara, and were rowed home along cheered when Cronin, the silent John P. Marquand,

canals here at him. "What made Churchill But it is doubtful whether from dawn.. great man? Not necessarily. his

among them or their challen- strategie qualities, for he = gers will come any great books mits he made mistakes. It was fut will live-as Barrie's fan- his tremendous vitality

With tasics and Conan Doyle's detec- which he infected others. My tive storici-to become part of test of greatness in a witter, is the language. his ability to reproduce vitality

on the printed

page.

"Thus readers 100 years from

now, or 300, if you like, cun

Test it!

a situation and VCU doubt it? Then try this text, I name eight novels by

Oliver Messel, In his

prince, also

mounted by a lyre-shaped spray of feathers.

It must be said that many of e costumes were highly in- cccurato historically.

Outside the palace the square was thronged with white paper lanterns and jam-packed with people.

people clapped and motorboat that took her back they recognised to her hotel on the Lido.

As she blood on the sump- rich fuously carpeted landing stage,

Wine and cakes provided free Thousands of lights which led velvet uniform coat, which one of the dozens of armed

for by Mr de Belstegul soon ran out, danced with the palace gallantly stepped had outlined the massive once belonged to a Bohemian Italian police guarding the

ward end, foCered a haltered but the crowd stayed, gazing up building of the Labla Palace local girls.

at the palace Windows, where cuitcase, suddenly winked out. The

Cuesis obligingly stood in the Mrs party of the century was

Churchill smilingly

open balcony to show off their thanked him and sat on it.

costumes. It was indeed a fabulous HERE were impolite bursts of

laughter from the crowd at party. Even the dogs were in

A: black poodle had, some of the costumes. But no costume. tomatoes were thrown, no Com- a harlequin suit to go with the munists demonstrated.

harlequin costume of its Italian

over.

still recognise

Was it worth, all the sky- feel it almost personally, al-

to the though customs and

have rocketting expense manners some of the authors and times have all changed." mentioned here. In their day

By that standard, two books they were hailed as great. But host, or the pangs suffered is not now by those failing to get an

invitation?

I

are: 1,

by Semcrict Maugham should edály, their day tive: "Liza of Lambeth" and but yesterday. "Of Human Bondage." Their

are time-

pavies are

less, ageless; their

problems eleraai.

What

other

qualities must be mixed in the cru-

cible

give

of lime to

the

Amalgam?

Batchin

Sm

Small

great Nigel

Back

Any ti

"Miac

Own Executioner") adds three more:

Reem," "The Bar-

Faith

Testament,"

Charity. Hope. Bulchin says: "The greatest barrier to

good and

great writing now is the absence of faith and hope. Most good writers have charity, but prob- ably not enough.

"Given that an quthor has more than his share of imagi- nation and technical ability, he obundance of also needs an

faith, hope, and charity

the human race."

And Luck

for

TOW we have four elements

Now

to our standard of greatness. How do the authors measuro

beslag up

them? Grahanı

Greene, who to his critics "has discovered, the art of marrying religion to what could have ("The been u sordid tale Heart of the Matter," "It's a Battlefield), Hos theso

clements in abundance.

four

His film stories ("The Follon Idol" "The Third Mun") show his vitality and the sad, most

al-

hopeless love of his

fellow-men...

They

also throw up a neh element of greatness:

power to entertain.

So easily we forget

the

primary job of

the

that

the

novelist is to write something

NANCY

ARE YOU—

STILL TELLING AS MANY

FIBS

"Grand Here they Canary 2 "Shannon's Way";

But no tomatoes

Lady Diana Cooper in her Carl-festooned silvery dress,

woman owner.

Two women wore diamond

She was pretty AN attractive woman appeared It one window wearing a magenta-jewelled musk. Tako it off," bawled the crowd. She

The Aga Khan thought 3. "Winner Take Nothing" 30. Wearing a black and

Peoples"; 5. "The white satin domino over his dressmaker- Jacques Fath, studded collars and their toe- did... She was pretty.

4. "Remote

Gunroom": 6, "Black Cargo" dinner jacket sult he sat 7. "The Name of Action"; 8,

back beaming in a wheeled The "Income and Outcome."

chair by the canal, waiting key Is below.

for his motor launch to take him to his hotel.

If you can place them all, then at least one thing is great: your memory! And that, after, all may be the final test.

Key: 1 and 2-Cronin: 3-Fleming- rev: 4-Evelyn Waugh: 5-Charles Avani Grene, catchin. Graham

X

"The outstanding features of this σun. pentlemen, are,fia tight-- ness and the fact that it will not kill anyone."

Well Meaning...

I'M TRYING HARD TOM STOP

BACH TIME I TELL A [WFIÐ, I'REMIND, })

MYSELF ITS WRONG, BY DROPPING ALA PEBBLE IN MY KWELL

Clapped, cheerid

She: "As you know, I have bcen to hundreds of parties In my time, starting in Queen Victoria's day. But I am cer4 tain that this was the best, of

The Italien boys yelled, op-

A 50ft, greased pole In the crowned with a

extravagantly nails were gilded: in his fantastic

satin coat gold-fringed white.

Each French 'dressmaker and towering white ostrich (male) más

more startlingly plause. feather headdress, were among gat, up than the last. Christian the flocks of people who strolled Dior's party carried 10ft, pules quare was f.om the palace to show thei: dressed in white and gold and Lunch of garlic sausages, and Coɛtumes,

chattering crowned with black hats, to re- totiles of chianti. The youths. crowds packing the neighbouring present eighteenth century of the town shinned up, and the

streets.

·

to

tha

There was applause when these two appeared. Sighed one

woman, gazing on

chubby

taptured at the display: "How beautiful, how elegant."

giants.

palace windows were thronged 15. Watch one or two snatch' a prize.

Suddenly all the lights went

Towering host PEOPLE wondered why their out and froworks crackled from

host, normally a middle-sized across the square. man, towered, high above his Armed police lined up to deal The Aga Khan should know, which had started formally with guests. The answer was that with possible Incidents. But wore shoes they good-naturedly allowed Mr de Beistegul specially built with it, high the crowd to do anything they platform soles.

liked-except get inside.

them all."

But he left early. The Begum, he said, would dance till dawn.

One elaborately gowned lady from Rome, wearing magnia.. cent. diamonds, took another

view from the Aga Khan's, "It is much more fun out here," cho sald.

Inside the palace the party,

rchenrs:deptrances and alów music, became less dignified.

Suitcase seat

He was a most remarkable Agure, with his huge white powdered wig and his splendid blue brocade robe.

.

General vate seemed to ge to Princess Elizabeth Chay. chavadze in her black velvol dress and imposing crown

INSTEAD of gentle minutts and quadrilles suitable to

There was much discussion the period, the 10th century or chestra in the minstrels gellery, about which costumes were the whose dress was copied exactly most splendid. That was when at 3 a.m. mon from the musicians' costumes'in

in surperb satins the

on the and women

Tiepolo frescoes and walls, played the latest 20th and laces, diamonds emeralds, streamed from the century alts, dazzlingly lit palace and danced to an accordion band in the squaro San Geremia out in the central courtyard, on side with the lesa glamorously floor painted, to imitate an Au-

busson carpet. dreased pubile..!

Host de Belstegui, in his pozing. robas as a Procurator of the Venetian Republic, come out in the square, too,"

THAT. REMINDS" ME-ID-UKE' NICE COLD

DRINK

Empress Catherine of Russia.

Guests in stately perukes and crinolines danced boogie-woogle Her husband, Prince George

Chavchavadze, was one of the group of splendidly dressed, per- conages who surrounded 'her.. Most of the older people left Others preferred the group before two am. Mrs Winston of American Indians headed by Churchill, in black ice with a Mrs Reglasld' Fellowes 'in har allver-edged three-cornered hat, original dreas of white satin and und 10 ininutes to wait for the leopard skin, Kar head sur-

By Ernie Bushmillere

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