Just before sailing off to war in the Sudan, British guardsman Harry Feversham quits his regiment. He immediately receives four white feathers-symbols of cowardice-one each from his three best friends and his fiancée. To disprove this grave dishonor, Harry dons an Arabian disguise and leaves for the Sudan, where he anonymously comes to the aid of his three friends, saving each of their lives. … Having proved his bravery, Harry returns to England, hoping to regain the love and respect of his fiancée. This suspenseful tale movingly depicts a distinctive code of honor that was deeply valued and strongly promoted by the British during the height of their imperial power.
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Very well written but….
August 19, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
This review is from the Kindle edition, March 24, 2011, free on Amazon. Mr. Mason had a way with words. His prose flows and paints almost visible pictures of his characters and scenes. Unfortunately his research skills did not match his writing skills or perhaps he didn’t care about accuracy and thought that his readers would feel the same. This led to such things as the oft mentioned Musoline Overture which, despite its importance to the plot, does not exist. After a frustrating session on line, I finally found a November 8, 1902, review in The Spectator Archives. Here is the passage concerning the overture:
“Mr. Mason’s sketch of society in Donegal—the home of his heroine—is more remarkable for its sympathy than its inti- mate knowledge of Irish character or manners. We regret to have to add that the unfortunate references to Ethne’s accom- plishments as a violinist will render it difficult for any one with the most rudimentary acquaintance with the fiddle to regard her as deserving of sympathy. At all the crucial points of her career she finds vent for her feelings by playing a piece which is called indifferently the Melusine and Musoline overture. Now, in the first place, people do not play overtures on the violin any more than they play single-handed quartets In the second, to allude to an existing and well-known piece like Mendelssohn’s Melasine overture, and then to call it Musoline, not once but two or three times, is one of those things that no reviewer can understand.”
This seems clear enough, except that internet sources which I consulted name the overture Melusina and Melusine rather than the Melasine of the review or the Musoline of Mr. Mason’s novel. The Spectator reviewer was wrong about Mr. Mason referring to the Musoline Overture two or three times. There are many references to it throughout the novel as it assumes some importance to the story. Now we are getting far afield from a book review so I will just say that the little details in the book should not be accepted as accurate without checking. Of course most of us have no interest in checking every detail in a book. We would rather assume that the author, particularly one of Mr. Mason’s standing and ability, writes from his knowledge of his subject or conducts rudimentary research. Alas, one can not make that assumption in this case.
THE FOUR FEATHERS is considered by most sources to be an adventure novel but in the first approximately 75% it deals more with romances and related problems. Most mentions of anything which I would consider adventure are discussions of events which happened elsewhere and how those events affect the romance. It says a great deal about Mr. Mason’s skill as a writer that the book kept me interested throughout. I do not usually care for an abundance of romance in my reading materials.
I enjoyed the novel much more than I did the 2002 color movie version of the book, but not as much as the 1939 British movie. Not enough adventure and action as well as the whole “Musoline” overture problem which really annoyed the classical music lover in me. So, despite the quality of the prose and the very insightful examinations of honor, courage and cowardice, four stars.