WILDING GRAFT

A first novel which sets the conflict between the forces of faith and disbelief against the Cornish claypit country and its isolated, gossiping inhabitants. Garth Joslin, 25 in 1940, has been firm in his trust for five years that he would find Irma, who had been driven back to London as a result of the scandal brewed by vicious neighbors and the girl he had julted. A newcomer, Griffiths, who has lost his wife and his faith in any goodness in the world, scoffs at Garth's sureness, at his confidence in the power of love. Tried again and again, Garth's ability to confront damning news of Irma, to bring comfort to those who need it, is rewarded when Irma is among the evacuees from London, when she proves that the miracle of which he had dreamed is real. Their reunion is final defeat for Griffiths. The descriptions of the countryside, the feeling of the remoteness of the region, the temper and quality of the people are vivid, but for all its spiritual values, the story is bogged down by its theme.