Heir and No Heir. By the Hon. Albert S. G.
Canning. (Eden, Remington, and Co.)—When we consider Mr. Canning-'s social position, and the fact that he has had the literary experience in- volved in the writing of some half-dozen previous books—three of which deal with literary topics—his ignorance of the elementary rules of English syntax is simply astounding. A worse-written story than Heir and No Heir we cannot recall, and had we read such a book, it is hardly likely that we could have forgotten it. Mr. Canning knows more about Irish history than about grammar, but his knowledge has not enabled him to write an Irish story which will repay the trouble of perusal. We certainly do not wish to speak harshly of a writer whose views seem to be in the main just and sensible; but the truth is, that his novel is, as a work of art, quite worthless.
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