Chimpanzee Into Lady

His MONKEY WIFE--John Collier--Appleton ($2).*

Mr. Fatigay taught school to naked little Africans in the jungle; he was the only white man in the village. It was a lonely life, made supportable by his admirably simple temperament, by letters from his capricious English fiancee, and by the devotion of his pet chimpanzee, Emily. Emily loved Mr. Fatigay, but of her devotion the good man was long unaware.

A favorite with her master and the natives alike, Emily was allowed the freedom of the village. She went religiously to school, and soon learned to read, but not write. Mr. Fatigay used to talk to her in the evenings, quite freely, but had no idea how much she understood. She understood everything. When Mr. Fatigay's lonely pedagogical exile was over, he took Emily with him to England. Amy, his fiancee, returned Emily's jealousy with interest, but made the mistake of despising her rival. By a clever ruse Emily substituted herself for Amy at the wedding (they were about the same height and coloring) and to Mr. Fatigay's horror he discovered he was married to a chimpanzee! The parson would do nothing about it. Mr. Fatigay rushed off to go to the dogs; Amy showed herself in true and unattractive colors; Emily, despairing but practical, went on the stage as a dancer. Mr. Fatigay dropped lower and lower; Emily made a fortune. One day they met again, and Emily was able to explain everything, for in the meantime she had learned to typewrite. A chastened, wiser but still admirably simple Mr. Fatigay returned to Africa with his monkey bride.

In His Monkey Wife Author John Collier has written a more forthright satire than did David Garnett in Lady Into Fox, but the tone of the two books is similar. You may be shocked by some of Author Collier's implications; never by what he says. Nothing is here for tears; plenty for a smile.

Author John Collier, poetry reviewer for London's Time and Tide,/- lives in Hampshire, where, says he, he is "indistinguishable in appearance and pursuits from any other country bumpkin."

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