12 JANUARY 1918, Page 17

The Living Present. By Gertrude Atherton. (J. Murray. 6s. net.)—Mrs.

Atherton's enigmatic title would not lead any one to suppose that her new book is in fact an account of the work of leading Frenchwomen during the war, with an outspoken and highly controversial essay on " Feminism in Peace and War." Mrs. Atherton says some wild things about " the threat of the matriarchate "—the possibility that women, having had to make themselves independent while their menfolk were away fighting, will desire to remain independent when peace returns. But her plea for the proper training of young girls of the well-to-do classes, so that they may, if need be, earn their own living, is sensible, and is fortified by many American examples.