1958-09-06 — Page 14

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1958.

The ROBERT PITMAN Book Page

THE SAINT WHO JAZZ COLUMN

WROTE A

Frank Tilsley Writes A Winner BEST SELLER

Too Late

I HAVE been studying a surprising document in

the case of the death of an author. That document is a book with a cheap, plain paper

cover.

It is a publisher's advance copy of a new novel to be published In September. The title on the cover: MUTINY). The author's name: Frank Tilsley.

Do you remember the tragedy of Frank Tilsley? He was the tailor's son, the council-school boy from Lui- enshire who suddenly found prosperity, and fume at the age of 20.

He wrote a novel about the ordinary people in the Manchester hack-streets. It was tulled Pebetan's Progress. It begume a best- seller.

Frank Tiisley moved routh; He broadcast.regiarly for the B.I.C. But he never censer to write about the ordinary folk of Lanenshire.

IT HAD STRENGTH

Take his long novel Champion Rota, That followed the life of Jonathan Briggs, the newsboy who breame a rich, gasping . jerry-builder.

Its style did not glitter, but like its hero it and strength. In Amerka alone in 1940 It earned Frank Tilsley the tailor's son more than £10,000.

And so, for the readers in the lending libraries, Frank T- ley's progress seemed well set. His books-Heaven and Berber: Common, Voler of the Craed-were always on the reserved shelf. His cheerful, saw-edged Manchester voled was heard with ulten- tion Sunday after Sunday so the B.B.C.

Then one Sunday that volce was silent. The recorded pro- gramme in which Frunk Tilsley's name was billed was cancelled. With amartinent Frank Tilsley's readers saw in their Sunday papers that al 52 this cheery, unpretentious writer had committe) suride at his home in Beckenhum, Kent.

HE HAD WORRIES

Why? Athu tortuer's court the usual detalls of drab subur- ban horror were reeiled, The court heard about the garage in which Frank Tilley's body was found, about the breniknife at his side.

grudtially But

the trat emerged, Frank Tilsley worried about-money,

wus

Is surge of success with Champion Road had left a back- wash of tax debts. Publish and And willingly advanced cash belore his books were written. And somehow those later books never had quite the succvm 19 pul Frank Tilstry straighu agam.

Yes, of course, these were the Fart of troubles which many

bud people have

to fight- including the homely Lancashtra people in the Titsley books. Why should such troubles overwhelm a writer with years of success ahead

of him?

MUTINIES

In

Well, that was the point. the despairing weeks before his death Frank Tlistey becante convinced that there was na Success head of blin. Ia reading blle had been faithful. But he knew that the critics, who had once compared him lo Wells anci Arnold Bunnett, wire no longer admiring.

And that was not the worst. On the day he died Frank Tilsley was nishing a

new historien novel. It was based ou the tinies at Spithead and the Nor which gripped the Royal Navy during the against Napoleon.

wers

Frank Tilsley was excited with the mutiny theme at first, But each morning as, he read through his growing typescript

11 suburlan home of Beckenham, he grew more and more despondent The typed words seemed dull ærul clumsy, the. characters lifeless. Не deelded that his talent was að dend as a worn-out battery.

Thus In despair Frank Tilsley killed himself. Anished but unrevised manus script was idled for publication by his son Vincent. Now, in proof form, in jis blue paper cover, it lies on my desk.

But why have I called it a surprising document? The renson is and Indeed. UGAY This week I "too" believed that Tilaley's genius as a story-élier was ebbing in his later work.

Ви! I am now certain that I wag wrong. I fadey that Mutiny-which he plevet was big final Lullare will be regarded as perhaps. the most powerfu of all the Tilslez books,

All relcides are needless. But nobe mere 80 Than Frank

Tilsley.

The

PROM

[.

WomanA

a book of tan- tallsing interest, I take this photograph of the celebrated Alice Keppel, mistress of Edward VII. Mrs Keppel first met the King when she SVAR strolling at Sandown racer with Sir Jack Leste, hun- band of Str Winston 'Churchill's aunt, Anila.

Wrole Anila IN lier memoirs: "Dear Jacksy in- troduced his fpir

com-

who

In- to

panion. The Irince mediately asked her accompany him, and his face lit up with such a smile that Jacksy knew he would not see her again for a long ime!

A recent history of Ed. ward VII's reign thus notes The sequel "It soon becante obvious to even the most obtuse onlookers that the King was in far better humour when Aller Keppel

comforted

was present than when she was not; and, since the great preoccupation of the day was to divert the King, Mrs Keppel soon found herself invited to all the same country house patiles as the Sovereign.”

known

that

It is well Quon Alexandra nobly xummoned Mr Keppel to the King's bedside when he w39 Jylug. But what has not been known until now

VIGNETTES OF LIFE

COLLECTING AUTOGRAPHS

MAS ITS REWARDS-

FROM NOW ON JUNIOR WILL ALSO

BE A

LOCAL HERO.

"GOSH MISTER!

'I THOUGHT"

YOU WERE..

a king

1

in the effect of the retaljon, ship on Me Keppel's own family on her handsome husband George, son of the Earl of Albemarle, and on their two young daughters, Now one of. those daughters has written her autobiography --- EDWARDIAN DAUGH- TER, by Sonia Keppel (Hamish Hamilton, 218,), 1 prelet it will be one of the big unexpected book KUETESNEN of the year.

by GEORGE MALCOLM THOMSON

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

OF A SAINT.

Lisieux. Horvill. 27s.

THE

IT'S THE |MUSIC THAT - COUNTS

A

By RAMSDEN GREIC

S Ted Heath once said, with री disdainful glanco at the long-haired,

By St. Therese of bearded, blue-jeaned section

of the jazz scene: "A hair-

never spoiled any musician's

HE publishers are not quite sure whether this is the cut, a shave or a good tailor

story of a "saint who wrote a best-seller" or "the tone." best seller that brought its author a sainthood." The facts are these:

At the age of 14, Therese Martin, belonging to middle-class French family, pestered the Pope during an audience at the Vatican into allowing her to enter the Carmelite Order at the un- suitably carly age of 15.

the age of 24 she died (1897), convent tife having proved too rigorous for one who chme of a somewhat sickly family There were abie Martin children; four died in childhood, five became nuns.

AL

Expurgated

But this was not the end of the story. In the last two years of her life, Therese wrote an autobiography with the unpro- mising title, The Story of the Springtime

Little White Flower. A loral printing works at Lisieux printed it, and Qiu convent published it, heavily ex- purgated,

It was an unlikely start for a book which, in the last sixty years, has sold millions of copies,

Witness Donald Christopher Barber. Here is clean-snäven

It is also the self-portrait of jazz'in a lounge suit and clean

an extraordinarily sensitive per-collar. son, A visit to Bologna at the

In a voice that unaccouĺt- age of 14 wna completely spoilt

| ubឋ makes the mon Bound for Therese because a student Yorkshire-com and bred insisted on litling ber down from was in fact, burn in Welwyn a rain,

Gurden Clly) Chris Barber no need to of yourse

in

truo

St Therese is not, perhaps, they "There is taako a spectacio conventional

Idea of a saint. But the fact remains that her to play good Jazz-or even 10 the crowda With story has fascinated and edified bring nullona'.

Jazztan It is tho And, after all, saints the are notoriously uncomfortable mule that counts." beings. They are not made to For proof see the Barber picase mortal tastes,

band balance sheets. A year's

ด

The Story of the Springtime work can bring in £20,000 for of a Little White Flower is this six-plece band. Even many human document of surpassing of the big, 16-piece "pop" bands Interest, both for

find dieully In emmanding what it

that kind of money, reveals and for what it has se- complished.

YOUTH.

By

HITLER'S

Franz Jetzinger, Hutchin- son. 16.

ON the first day Hitler entered

Has Jazz found more devotees now that rock 'n' roll has lost its appeal?

"No," says Barber because we've always shown

a certain tolerance and called rock na

jazz fans. After all, rock is only watered-down jázz.”

Donald

Christopher Barber, Linz in Austria after the valed the man with the best seizure of that country by his small combination in British Nuzla, he ordered a military jazz, today, has reached the top. service le relating to him to be at the ripe old age of 28. found, Told that It was missing

Indeed, so popular has | become; - so widespread-its-in-from the-archlyes, he fell inlo

fluence, that Therese

As was one of his notorious rages, claimed by her Church as a lafe, as 1943 the search for the spint only 28 years after her document went on, In vale. death. Now, for the Brst Ume, the story as Therese wrote it, has been published, Seven thousand alterations were needed to restore the original text. Ronald Knox translated the result into English..

Devout

...Way to top

Unlike most of the rock 'n' roli fraternity who Sourc success if not exactly' overnight

Dr Jetzinger had the fle in a at least after a whole week, Bar- crate in his attic.

ber has been bashing his way to the lap since he first applied contain? The himself to the trombone at the

What did it proof that Hitler was posted as age of 17.

a deserier from the Austrian

Rays: "In Jazz you must urmy in 1913. And that this, I know how to play your · instru- and not political contempt for ment, ' the Austrian regime, was prob

"I spent three years at the School of Musle, studying anit playing in the !school symphony orchestra.”

Those who do not turn to the ably, the renson he went to live Guida "In Munich, book for devotional purposes will open it in a mood of respectful curiosity.

Here is an account, of an intense

and happy family in

| North France, of a concentrated, almost obsessive, ploty, of a life

This is perhaps the only interesting, fuel brought to light

in what is otherwise an un-

The statement might shat-

ter the peony whistle virtuosi,

consider that the favourlie plece ecessary book: the early life of But it is not so odd when you a toafer who grew up to become af music of the late, great Fots one of the Jnost boring Walier was

Abide With Me- played, with tears streaming

profoundly devout and touch-nonsters in history. ingly shorl.

Autograph Hunters

--fLondon Express Survica). down his face, on the organi.

By Harry Weinert

SOME AREN'T SATISFIED

WITH AN AUTOGRAPH ----- THEY WANT A SLEEVE OR MAYBE AN ARM.

AN AUTOGRAPH NEVER GOT A BORROWED BOOK BACK YET.

QUOTE

"It was in August 1942 that the squadrons of the Path Finder Force nssembled. Typical of the attitude of Bert Harris, our C.-tu-C., to the the Path Finder Force was order which he isrued to me that the quadrons were to operate the day they arrived, without nlaring simple period

night, and that no would be allowed for pre- paration er for training. This was quite unreasonable, but ...I made no attempt to

argue, From "PATHFINDER-W&e- thue Memory,” by Air Vice- Marshal D. C. T. Bennett (Mulier, 181.). A bumpilous,, bad-tempered, egotistic, fax- cinating book.

BEING MISTAKEN FOR THE CURRENT SINGING SENSATION IS ONE FORM"

OF FLATTERY— WE HOPE.

SOMETHING FOR

POSTERITY,

for ov

PEN

JZY DIZ

SLVE

KILROY

MYR

WHAT A PROBLEM! A REAL-LIVE CELEBRITÝ

IN PERSON -- AND NOT A PEN IN SIGHT—

NOT EVEN A LIPSTICK !

COAL 128 BY SEVERAL TUTAR G-3/ CORP. THE WORLD KINETE REFEREN

THE SCHOOL. YEARBOOK WILL KEEP 'EM

IAL

|STITCHES

UNTIL

SOME-

ALONG.

THING

BETTER

COMES

UNSOLICITED AND COMICAL

AUTOGRAPHS LEFT BY DEPARŢING-

'HUMOROUS FRIENDS.