1958-05-29 — Page 4

THE CHINA MAIL; THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1958.

The ROBERT PITMAN book page

NOW RELIGION BECOMES No. 1 BEST-SELLER

For

FOR whom do the bells toll this Sunday morning?

only a small pious minority, say the leaders of the Church.

"The Englishman of 1958," the Bishop of Bradford has just announced, in "gloriously indifferent" to religion. For him, according television "pensions and sex, to the bishop. the only real things are and the wireless."

But to certain other cars th stcopie bella bring a different

today. Inaisage

A messogy, which tells of an extraordinary revolution in the book world, A message which tells af steady frith-and even steadier profits,

The ears to which I refer belong to the publishers of Britain,

THE DRUMS BEAT

Dr. Cyril Garbett, late Archbishop

of York... They count on his life.

story to join the best-sellers.

out.

Archbishop, nun, minister ....... the stories of their lives and faiths are angerly sought by the publishers, though the church pows may #tili stand empty.

the book secret diary of some statesman wanted her to follow them at not even the strength to dio jul too well; that or held-marshal? Is it a sensa; once. Having kissed the Pope's pen in ink. Her last pages which

Jake had helped to tional novel about sex and war? show she suddenly spoke

were finished in penell, By Therese a saint was, not quite autumn she was dead,

the book Thereso had written. No, it is a series of religious

What was the truth? In 1931 Pauline died. Fermission was given for a Carmelite monk

LISTEN to the message of the jettings by a young French nua.

of Collins.

for Mr Ronald Politzer

Her name": Therese Martin

She asked permission to enter Carmelite convent at the age

of 15. The cardinals frowned.. The Pope was surprised,

MADE A SAINT

The tu by which she is know murmured some non-committal WITH hesltation the nuns de to work at the manuscript in

to the work: St Therese words. But the child was not

1055 publicity Lisieux. Pulitzer had the job of selling a new war author to the book fructe.

He sold in. bkshops eebord with

Th a

Therese was the daughter of French watermaker. She chioved no miracles in her tife-

She died when she was

sound of Politzer's drum time. Bering for

young m 1 24. elted Marlen, Within twelve months Maelemis LM.S. Ulysses had sold more coples than almost any other first novel ever writ

12 1037 Pulitzer launched Arthur Bryant's version

of

Satisfled.

SHE GOT HER WAY

VJEEPING, desperate for the Pope's consent, she clung But it is easy to see why he to the white-clad knees until the new book Papal guards had to drag her story behind this concerning Therese has excited away by force. Ronald Pulitzer.

THE BEGINNING

Yet the French girl, Therese Martin from Lisieux, somehow

cided to print 2,000 coples of Therese's simple writings. Outside her provincial convent she was unknown.

But now a strange thing hay- pened. More and more coples of her book were bought. Whth- in five years of her death it was reprinted in five languages. 11 was commended by cardinals

and bishops.

the convent.

He found that the rumours were correct, Seven thousand mado in changes had been Therese's written words.

EFFECT OF CHANGES

THE

E effect of the changes had been to make the language more idgnited, to put a vencer By 1910, on the strength of of apetity over Therese's sense

It her book's success. was of humour, to soften her refer- decided to investigate Therese's ences to her fellow-nuns. A claims to mainthood. In 1925. quarter of the manuscript had only 28 yours after her death, been suppressed completely. she was made a saint.

got her way. By the Pope's the Alanbrooke diaries. More

special dispensation she became generals, admirals and Bir

The paraded of Politzer's IT beglas ir: 1887, when a little a novice at the age of 15. Gurshals

girl of 14, dressed In back stury of Therese now moves for- mass reception in the Dorchester

Already young then turned up for the Nor- with a lace mantilla, walked up ward 10 years.

shyly before a big urmchair In Therese was dying. Gently her mandy Invasion.

Rome. Behind the chair stood a Mother Superior ordered her lo not Anished. purple array of bishops and car- write an account of her life in

I the chair ant a matt the convent. dinals.

And in 19587 Again the Poilizer machine is in top gear. It has distributed thousands of in while, the Pope himself.

fronted expensive

known

It is hardly likely. There is no whiff of heresy here. The book is translated by Father Ronaldi

Knox, who finished the work

few days before his death. It is commended by the Popal authorities. And the proofs have been corrected by Knox's

terary

executor Mr Evelyn Waugh.

What of the other publishers? Have they any answer Therese's autobiography?

to

Well, take Hodders and Stoughton, They aro well known for their novels of Damion and adventure,

GASTON PALEWSKI

'FRONT MAN' and CHARMER

Paris.

As the jigsaw puzzle of France and Algeria

begins to take shape, de Gaulle, Jacques Soustelle, General Massu, and General Salan all fit

into their appointed place.

But the puzzle is incomplete, hod fought as a bomber pilot la One of The most important the debacle of the fall of places is missing. It is picco Franco, And he had nrrived that could spell success or defeat in England ilke so many other for de Gaulle, It is named Trenclunca, full of bitter shame Gaston Palewski,

and a burning determination to make France free and glorious

Patewski is the French again.

And in de Gaulle he saw the

Ambassador to Rome, And of Arst glance, the perfect ambassa- dor, the completely typleal man who could do just that. It

was very simple after that,

He is dark,

This sophisticate, this nan not tall, but carries the Dr

slight plumpness of the world shoply gave to the Himself wholeheartedly that comes from good living

service of de Gaulle who SUYLE then the soul and spirit of Franco.

But what are Hodders bank-Frenchman. ing on as their big best-seller of the year? On A PRIVATE HOUSE OF PRAYER, by Lealle Weatherhead, Methodist leader (to be pub-with much elegance. lished in October in editions ranging from 12s. 6d. to 209.).

CERTAIN WINNER

the

A Hint

alootuera

He became de Gaullo's front man, the

charmer who knew There is a hint of lavender as everyone, the man who could go he passos (his political enemies to dinner parties and win over FODDERS (iotal sales of new nicknamed him "La Lavanly" people who would be rebuffed H

religious title 300,000 in because of 11), a little moustache by his chief's

mouth. arrogance. the last 18 months) also expect emphasises a sensive high

from returns

JOIN Gay, a man of the world, he is WESLEY AND THE CATHOLIC master of the Palazzo Farnese, CHURCH, by John Todd (to be the most beautiful embassy in published in September, 108) the world, where he entertains book which not only has the some of the world's most beauti-

Wesleyan ful women. warm approval of tenders but the Roman Catholic

The readers of Nancy MU- imprimatur as well

ford's saliro "The Pursuit of Grey Eminence, the real power, remember that she while de Gaulle is the figure Love" willi dedicated it to Gaston Palewaki, head? It was not so.

A

who French Palewski, the perfect anbassa- knows them both pooh-poohs

politician dor.

the idea.

It puts forward the unusual vlew that John Wesley was

with closely linked Cathollo thought in his own day.

An

Roman

winner

But this is only the facade of Palewski. Just after the

Power?

A false impression

In those days. Up

Can

KTEW it

be that Palewski

i

the

"De Gaulle never really tooks

equally cerialn Kor Hodders the official war he was thrown into the his advice because he never biography of Archbishop evil-smelling waters of the canal takes atryone's advice If it is Garbell, which is still in pre-at Perpignan, He fought street contrary to his own opinion. paration.

bruwis with the Communists, fect and bottle and fists flying

For Palewski is a de Gaulle man. He belongs to the grueral heart and soul,

оте

Of all

111

Then take Longmans. big, publishers they doubtedly the most broad- minded where sex-laden novels are concerned. Few other firms would have printed By Love Possessed in its entirety as Longmans did. Few other firms would have printed Pamela Moore's Chocolates for Break- fast at all.

Recently Longmans started series of paperback blographies. The sales so far-about 25,000. The first title in the serley-- ST JOHN THE BAPTIST THE DESERT TRADI- Steinmann, (by Jean

This, then, is the sensational Yet the story of Therese was manuscript which is printed in English for the first time at the The Uties It was always

that end of the month.

OF Therese's sister Pauline who AUTOBIOGRAPHY became Mother Superior at the SAINT (Harville, 218.).

writings, brochures

There had previously made convent-edited

Will the book suggest that AND Among the pilgrims who were some juttings about her child with Therese's dying permission. Therese was made a saint by TION with a sheet of gauze. "A Vell is

the to kravet before him that day hood and her beliefs. Lifted the feltering on

gone round that thought that all these writings As time went by the rumour mistake? Will it disturb Roman (a.). ouauze tells the book trade, the word had "And an original manuscrip: tr Tevealed...." brochure underneath.

whispery

What Is it all about?

is this manuscript?

It was

no on might address the Pope. put together would -mnke " the But the ile girl hind come touching obituary notice to send

from France with Q

convents. special to other

And problem, Three of her elder Therese sat, writing beneath What shters had in turn become nuns, be chesinul trees in the

Is it the She was convinced that God summer air, At last she hat

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her

grew that Pauline had done her Catholics?

~(London Express Service).

A Wit

icy

Curious though it may be for such a sardonie wit to give his undivided loyalty to one mu Palewskl has done just that.

The story of the cassociation begins in

had

1940. Palewski had a brilliant career at the Sorbonne and Oxford.

He had served na essistant to Paul Reynaud,

HERBERT WILCOX tells JAMES THOMAS: Why I am turning to TV

The parasite needs some new ideas

FILM-MAKER Herbert Wilcox glared at his small and

ancient TV set last night and said: "I see that thing

as a parasite the most deadly medium on earth. Three months ago I wouldn't have switched the damn anti- social thing on."

But now Wilcox, after 40 years in movies, is moving with his wife Anna Neagle into TV in a big way with £400,000 backing from the B.B.C.

What has driven Britain's top independent producer, at 68, to tackle the parasite? Said Wilcox: "Three months ago Anna wag on "This Is Your Lift. It

ganism In the cinemas. The brought in 100,000 letters. older people are embarrassed ing i

"He appreciated Palewsid's devotion and depended on him.”

of

The devotion and dependence carried over into the your vielory when de Gaulle returned Pulewald triumphant to Parla, savoured success with him, And defeat 100. For when de Gaullo foll so did Gaston Palowal.

And life became difeult,

It was all right for de Gaulle. He was

able to shut h/manif within his arrogance and walt

and walt

It was different for Palewskl. He had no money. Do Caulio personal did not need him as much as He formerly. He was in the political wilderness. It was hard for the man who had attended all the war-time conferences with

HERBERT WILCOX-A NEW CHALLENGE

Sald he; I have been watch tell a story. Two people in a now for three months, zoom must feel they are part of I was staggered by a reac- to find the stalls full of kids They aro just

not using the the action, they must be able to tion which never came to us who laugh at anything tender medium. It should be an excit- feel emotionally about it. They in all those years in the or emotional,

ing thing. They're cramming it don't want to cavesdrop; they

want to participate," cinema.

"I never belleved before that that little sereen was capable of putting over genuine

emotion,

All right for cricket and corona- tlons, I thought. But the day after Anna was in tears on TV, strangers stopped my in the street to ask how she was

Cinema? No

"I realised that I could start. again with 40 years' experience to draw on."

There are other reasons why WUcox will now divide his time

between TV. ', and

cinema.

with valueless šlui.

"Now It is impossible to uso the words 'I love you' sincerely "It borrows from every other Wilcox moves into TV against in a film. The youngsters hoot medium. Instead of creating for a background of animosity and whistle. Their derision is self. You think you've seen between the nim industry and appalling. If they don't like the it all before and usually you are television stimulated by TV's entertainment they guy it.

right, TV is so full of old pic-

movies. He "Now we have to aim our home movies.

tures that it has become like scramble for pid

may be making the first over- films at people between 10 and

tures in the uneasy business of 25 instead of 10, and đồ.

"And the comedy is deadly, marrying TV and cinema in- "That is one reason why 1 You hear people laughing at teresta, am going into TV. To get back Jokes that don't seem funny

that audience which the hooli- when you're sitting by yourself, He has a big enough name gans have driven home to their and all li door is to create a and reputation to get the

BOLS

Valueless? Yes

strange wall of reséntament.

American natworks interested in "Except on odd occasions, buying their first all-Brlush TV has been flooded they don't seem to have found with offers of stars.

series, He out how to mako peoplo feel as they watch TV. They haven't Wilcox has been long enough discovered the emotional impact,

cinema.

He has plans for 90-minule

and documentaries. But first ko will star Anna ana. Belgian resistance heroine in a series already, sold on both aldes of the Allantic.

the hitting the jackpot with movies the mood we can create in a TV dramas produced by himself

Hike "Sixty Glorious Years," "Spring in Park Lane," and He said; Tho, middle-aged “Odette, to know that the small people who were our greatest screen can reach cinema, entert cinema, tans do not go to the tainment standards, only by cinema any more. It is not motorial (int is better, more Jiut TV, which keeps them powerful than the usha ruiz of at home. 31 is the booll- TV.

Emotion? No

“Everyone is too far away. We need eyes, Lacne, heads to his wife.

A man must always consider

chief and

his

and Sir Winston Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt.

And so in 1951 he accepted a post In Edgar Faure's Cabinet When the news was announced de Gaulle wrote him

a little note,

Just

Passion

three sentences;

"I do not expect that you are expect- ing my congratulations. If you really feel that you are serving your country, there is suLO excuse for you. But I do not feel that ore."

you

Icy. Devastating.

The effect on the man whó had served do Gaulle RO devotedly may be, imagined, Gaston Palewski wept. And resigned soon after.

These were bad days for Pałowski. So bad that last year do Gaulle interceded for him and got him the post, of Ambassador to Italy

At his table he is Unble to brve pool Jean Cocteau, Aly Khan, of whom he is a ", great friend, or French· flim star Henri Vidal and always, of course,

A flow al beautiful elegant women.

But, there is only one serious

pession in his life-de Gaulle,

And that allegiance is in-

J corruptible,

By JOAN HARRISON, A

ANTIE..

Artis

Some people.ara too selfish to give anyone s

1