Family Visit

CAPTAIN NICHOLAS--Hugh Walpole--Doubleday, Doran ($2.50).

Following hard on the heels of the four long turgid romances that make up The Berries Chronicle, Hugh Walpole's new novel reverts to his lighter vein. A Modern Comedy he calls this yarn of a present-day scalawag who, with the manners of Prince Charming and the soul of a snapping turtle, is the black sheep of a gentle English family. Author Walpole, who has a good word for everybody, seems to like even his own rogues. But most readers will have little sympathy with Captain Nicholas. He does not rise to the stature of a dark brooding Barry Lyndon. Neither is he a devil-may-care fellow who is his own worst enemy. Nor is he a gay, reckless, unscrupulous adventurer of the Gil Bias order. At best he is only a sawdust figure of a gentleman, at worst only a petty crook.

For ten years after the War Captain Nicholas Coventry with his little daughter Lizzie knocks about the continent living on his wits. At the end of his rope, down & out, he decides to retire to the bosom of his family, peacefully dwelling in a London suburb. The family consists of solid citizens, wives, husbands, children, to whom the clever, worldlv-wise Nicholas is an adventure. Nicholas soon discovers that there are good pickings. Brother-in-law Charles, devoted husband and father, is an easy mark for Nicholas' charm. The Black Sheep finds it convenient to help himself to money and valuable articles lying about in this trusting circle. He always needs money, not only for himself and Lizzie, whom he adores, but also for one Abel Mandez, his pursuing shadow, an old partner in crime, who plays a Mr. Hyde to his impersonation of Dr. Jekyll.

Enjoying evil for its own sake, the Captain reduces Brother Matthew to a state of misery by destroying his faith in God and man. He ferrets out Nephew Romney's deep tangled secrets, laying him bare and vulnerable, enjoys exposing the boy to a crass prostitute. Weasel-like, soft-footed, he discovers that his spinster sister's love letters are written by and to herself. He relishes the joke, pretends to sympathize, but uses the knowledge to get money out of her. Even the servants are not exempt from his influence.

Sister Fanny stands for goodness as Nicholas stands for evil. But devoted, loyal, bewildered Fanny is slow to size up the situation. Finally she senses that she is up against something that means a fight to the end for all she holds dear. But when she is on a two-week cruise, her innocent husband, Charles, who never ceases to admire Nicholas, succumbs to a wholly insignificant affair with a flower girl. Nicholas learns of this aberration, wields his new weapon with devastating effect.

Nicholas enjoys his stay with his family, a soft berth offering large scope for his talents. But when they finally find him out for what he is, he realizes that the game is up. He wangles an invitation from a chance acquaintance, departs with Lizzie, leaves unhappiness and tragedy in his wake.

Captain Nicholas is the Literary Guild's choice for September.

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