Vol. VI No. 1 - Modernist Magazines Project

THE BERMONDSEY BOOK
high reputation. Although the stories in this book are by no means
of equal merit, each bears the unmistakable marks of the author's
originality of idea and treatment and his inimitable style. Mr. Coppard
may be said to be the greatest of modern short story writers whose
style is the distinguishing. mark. If his stories were printed without
his name it would not be difficult to say who wrote them. Other writers of
short stories may intrigue us with their clever plots but no one can hold us
so powerfully by the short use of words as Mr. Coppard. This is not
to say that there are no plots in his short stories; there are, but they are not
invented to make the story. The story unfolds itself out of the characters
and their circumstances. There is no need to invent anything; the tales
seem to tell themselves as all the best tales do.
Here is Mr. Coppard's great gift—the power to take the slightest incident
out of life and allow it to fashion itself into a story which very often
in his skilful hands is a microcosm of the whole of life. As I have said the
stories in "The Silver Circus" are by no means equal in interest: "The
Silver Circus," for example, is the least successful.
But how perfect is the story "Darby Dallow Tells His Tale." A very
simple story but told with rare sentiment and wonderful economy of words.
If one demands that a short story should be short, then "Darby Dallow Tells
His Tale" fulfils the condition to the utmost and may without exaggeration
be described as a little masterpiece.
I am naturally biassed in favour of "Fine Feathers" and "The Presser,"
because both appeared originally in the BERMONDSEY BOOK. Of these two
short stories, "Fine Feathers" is by far the better, perhaps because it is
more familiar in humanity. What a vivid and acute sense Mr. Coppard
has for the little incidents so important in the lives of little people. In so
many of his tales the very small in itself becomes quite enormous. The
incidents in the life of each one of us are reminders of the truth of this.
And how well (turning to the other stories in the book) Mr. Coppard
understands women. Few if any writers can equal Mr. Coppard in the
delicacy with which he deals with themes, often very strongly sexual. Yet
nothing unpleasant emerges as it does in the work of writers who have not
Mr, Coppard's sensibility and style.
Altogether, then, the best book of short stories of the year.
MEMOIRS OF A FOX-HUNTING MAN. By SIEGFRIED
(Faber & Gwyer).
SASSOON
The first edition of this book may provide some kind of consolation to
those who do not believe in reviews of books for it was published anonymously.
Yet the critics praised it with one accord as though it might have
been written by an unknown author. Which shows that critical judgment,
even in the popular press, is still alive to good work without a name. We
are getting on.
It happens, however, to be a fact about this book that the name of the
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