10 DECEMBER 1927, Page 31

THE RESPECTABLE LADY. By Katherine Tynan. (Collins. 75. 6d.)—This is

a quiet novel of English country life, somewhat in the Trollope vein. Mrs. Valiant and Diana Leslie are the respective ladies of two neighbouring manors. Into the secluded and still semi-feudal life of their remote countryside comes Mrs. Heseltine, "the respectable lady," who impresses everyone by her instinct for always doing the right thing, and who, while helping many lame dogs over stiles, plays no small part in the love-affairs of Diana herself. It finally appears that Mrs. Heseltine bass a "past," and that it is through sorrow that she has learned to lead others to joy. Mrs. Tynan's characterization is always natural ; she excels in describing rural and domestic scenes ; and she overflows with the milk of human kindness.