THE PREVALENCE OF WITCHES

by Aubrey Menen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 16, 1948

A humorous satire which takes place in a remote, uncivilized section of India- Limbo, and which features as principals Catullus, the English king of Limbo; the unnamed officer of education; who is the narrator and Bayard Leavis, a friend of Catullus- all three extremely garrulous. When a Limbodian kills a witch, he cannot understand why he is accused of murder since he did good in ridding the community of evil. Bay sends for his friend, a fake swami, to perform a miracle which will convince the judge that the killer had only acted in accordance with Limbodian religious principles, and all ends happily. Some entertaining accounts of the school that the officer of education sets up, Catullus' wife's tangle with a tiger, the swami's collection of turbans, etc. etc. And at the close there is a lengthy dissertation by almost all involved conveying a condemnation of Western civilization. Conversational, controversial, this both stimulates and entertains on an intellectual level.

Pub Date: Feb. 16, 1948

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1948

Categories: FICTION