Books: Stout fella

BEAU IDEAL—Percival Christopher Wren—Stokes ($2.00).

With Beau Geste, Christopher Wren roused such wholesale devotion to the gallant Brothers Geste of the French Foreign Legion that he has found it necessary to pronounce two post mortems—Beau Sabreur, and now Beau Ideal. No Conan Doyle, facile at reviving favorite characters, he is nevertheless faithful in concocting new thrills, new astounding coincidences, new bad puns, and pinning them to the surviving Geste—two others having already died elaborate deaths.

Not that John Geste, survivor, is even the hero of the present yarn, but it is for his sake that Otis Vanbrugh, chief protagonist, braves countless risky episodes,...