“Walking Out.” Chappell and Co.
“Eastnor Churchyard.” Chappell and Co.
By Mrs. WOODFORDE FINDEN.
“Willow Wand.” Boosey and Co.
PRESS NOTICES
“Poems of the Past and Present.”
“Miss Radclyffe-Hall has an exceptional gift for enshrining a single thought or fancy in a little lyric or a song. The little pieces ... most of them catch a real thought, and sometimes—as in “A Reflection”—one which makes the reader pause and meditate. Many of her pieces seem to have been put to music, and they deserve it.”—The Times, October 6th, 1910.
“Miss Marguerite Radclyffe-Hall is already known to many readers as the author of some sweet and dainty verses. Her latest book should widen the circle of those acquainted with her work, for it shows her once more as a tender singer of the spells of love, the beauty of Nature. There is in many of her poems a wistfulness that is of beauty rather than of sadness, while her power of expressing her moods and thoughts in simple and melodious rhythms is, perhaps, more markedly shown here than in her earlier work. Here is a haunting little piece from a trio of ‘Stuart Songs’ (quotation). Part of the charm of this lies no doubt in the trick of refrain, but, with her few simply chosen words, the writer has suggested much of tenderness and tragedy. Many of the pieces seem to have been written with a view to musical setting, and express a mood, a sentiment, in tuneful fashion, and with a note of true sincerity. Here is a beautiful picture, ‘In Liguria’” (quotation).—Daily Telegraph, November 16th, 1910.
“Poems of the Past and Present, notwithstanding their number, maintain a standard consistently high. Fastidious workmanship, and an instinct towards poetical grace in language and rhythm, are, apart from inspiration, the two essentials for the writing of lyrics; and the volume possesses both in a marked degree, besides an appreciable share of the rarer quality. Though the personal note is seldom absent, and the dominance of love as a theme makes more than ever for monotony nowadays, these potential drawbacks are to a great extent redeemed by the freshness and fancy which go to the painting of, among many others, such a haunting little picture as the following from ‘In Liguria’ (quotation). With her power of delicate visualization, her keen sense of colour and music, and a technique almost flawless, the author should, as her poetical horizon broadens, produce valuable results.”—The Athenæum, December 3rd, 1910.
“One meets with many excellent lyrics scattered through the pages. What is characteristic of the best of them, which are to be found among the unrhymed verses, is a certain Southern, almost Oriental atmosphere, like the scent at dawn of those strange blossoms of which she sings. This is the appropriate setting, sometimes of a happy licence of imagination, in a set of verses which will repay perusal by a reader of poetic sympathies.”—The Scotsman, October 13th, 1910.
“A poetess with a very charming gift ... her little book should have a great vogue as a Christmas gift-book.”—Daily Express, July 7th, 1910.