Books in Brief

An Enigma of Brontes, by Maureen Peters (St. Martin’s, 191 pp., $7.50). The contents, alas, do not live up to the rather nifty title. In the first place, Miss Peters’ prim, schoolmistressy tone is not the ideal one for the story of this strange, strange family. (For example, she summarizes an anecdote in which Emily has beaten a bull mastiff unconscious with her bare fists in these words: “It was an act of animal savagery, which has horrified Bronte admirers, but it did show Emily’s implacable nature and her strength.”) More importantly, this is almost more a monograph than a biography. Miss Peters devotes a good deal of the rather slim volume to putting forth her own, usually sexual, explanations of various events: for example, that Emily and Branwell were or feared themselves to be homosexual; that a close friend of Charlotte’s died, not of appendicitis, but in childbirth. Miss Peters may be right in these and half a dozen other points, but if she is, it’s almost by accident. Her theories are pure conjecture, built on evidence which could equally well support not only the standard interpretations she is refuting, but also equally ingenious and totally opposite explanations. Occam’s razor would come in handy here. linda bridges

The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz, 1900-1950, edited by Roger D. Kinkle (Arlington, 4 vols., $75). New York critics reviewing Good News recently were driven wild, not about the show but about their inability to remember just where many of the tunes in the 1974 update had actually originated. That was four months ago, before The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music etc. was on the market. But then it might not have helped them meet their deadline because although this splendidly indexed work will direct you to the right Broadway year for a particular song, it can’t make you ignore the temptation to dawdle, browse, savor,

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An Enigma of Brontes, by Maureen Peters (St. Martin’s, 191 pp., $7.50). The contents, alas, do not live up to the rather nifty title. In the first place, Miss Peters’ prim, schoolmistressy tone is not the ideal one for the story of this strange, strange family. (For example, she summarizes an anecdote in which Emily has beaten a bull mastiff unconscious with her bare fists in these words: “It was an act of animal savagery, which has horrified Bronte admirers, but it did show Emily’s implacable nature and her strength.”) More importantly, this is almost more a monograph than a biography. Miss Peters devotes a good deal of the rather slim volume to putting forth her own, usually sexual, explanations of various events: for example, that Emily and Branwell were or feared themselves to be homosexual; that a close friend of Charlotte’s died, not of appendicitis, but in childbirth. Miss Peters may be right in these and half a dozen other points, but if she is, it’s almost by accident. Her theories are pure conjecture, built on evidence which could equally well support not only the standard interpretations she is refuting, but also equally ingenious and totally opposite explanations. Occam’s razor would come in handy here. linda bridges

The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz, 1900-1950, edited by Roger D. Kinkle (Arlington, 4 vols., $75). New York critics reviewing Good News recently were driven wild, not about the show but about their inability to remember just where many of the tunes in the 1974 update had actually originated. That was four months ago, before The Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music etc. was on the market. But then it might not have helped them meet their deadline because although this splendidly indexed work will direct you to the right Broadway year for a particular song, it can’t make you ignore the temptation to dawdle, browse, savor,