WITHOUT RESERVE

Harton (Under the Hammer, 1991) expands on his adventures as auctioneer of antique art objects and portrayer of English music- hall comic characters. Whether in an auction room visited by the likes of Bertie Wooster or out in the field to do insurance appraisals, our hapless hero, echt Briton that he is, encounters all sorts of chappies- -including a rock star, an Inspector from the Yard, blackguards, and coarse Yanks, as well as several quaint old ladies and a clever female friend. Most are met with Apollonian aplomb, naturally. Harton's is a Waugh-like repertory of colorful characters and, generally, while faux Waugh is hell, the result here is a bit of a lark—sometimes. The antics in Belgravia, the Channel Islands, and the countryside run along plots seemingly devised to gain the attention of Sir Lew Grade's organization for use as a sitcom that will eventually wind up on public TV. Along with the monkeyshines, we learn of the origin (and pronunciation) of ``netsukes''; visit a London gambling casino; and watch the auctioneer recognize nonexistent bids at a second-tier auction house. It's all pleasant enough, especially for readers who dig such stuff as ``Madeleine De Courcy paced up and down extremely elegantly in front of the fireplace,'' or `` `Would you like to see the sweet trolley?' the young waitress enquired.'' At the end of the day, we're amused, though not a lot. Not for Anglophobes, then, but the antique humor provides a harmless pastime for others.