LEAVES IN THE WIND

A tale, with its locale in England, of a nomadic, loquacious, nature-loving harpist, Alan Hugh Leigh, who wanders into the town of Moonlea in search of his friend, John Simon Adams, and finds himself caught up in a tempestuous labor uprising composed of iron workers. Incensed by poor wages and inadequate living conditions, the iron workers, led by John Adams, lash out at the landed gentry families of Penbury and Plimmon. All sorts of good and evil characters bank the story; John Adams, the crusader; Lemuel, the unctuous villain; Helen Penbury, beautiful and haughty; but all, including the harpist, are given to high-flown, involved, philosophical meanderings that hold back the pace. Although there are high spots and skirmishes here and there, such as the actual revolt of the iron workers, the general tenor is unreal, long-winded. Reminiscent of his earlier books, The Dark Philosophers, Venus and the Voters, this will probably parallel their sale.