MRS. 'ARRIS GOES TO NEW YORK

by Paul Gallico ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 17, 1960

Pandering to the populace -- this synthetic, second-best attempt to recapture the magic of London's queen of chars, Mrs. 'Arris. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris was a once in a lifetime modern fairy tale, which captured all- almost all- hearts. But when Mrs. 'Arris goes soupy sentimental over the mistreating of a big-eyed small boy, of eight, - deserted by his parents, and left with resentful foster parents in a London flat -- and wangles a dream job for herself and her crony Mrs. Butterfield, in order to kidnap the lad and take him to America, there to find his missing father, this reader, for one, rejected the tale in toto. Even the skill of a Paul Gallico failed to recapture either conviction or interest. One knew from the start that Mrs. 'Arris, never downed by obstacles, would compass them all -- and make friends everywhere. Her buddy of Paris, now the new French Ambassador in Washington, aided and abetted her sometimes nefarious schemes. And the one surprise angle is not the identification of the missing father, but the fact that Mrs. 'Arris will have none of him, once he is found. Of course all turns out as it should in fairy tales- and at the close, the homesick Mrs. 'Arris and Mrs. Butterfield bid their new friends goodbye- and set faces for home and the joys of the flicks and a variety of jobs and a whole roster of employers -- and, for Mrs. 'Arris, a romance in the offing.

Pub Date: March 17, 1960

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1960

Categories: FICTION