12 MARCH 1927, Page 44

ALFRED THE GREAT. By Allan Monkhouse. (Seeker. 7s. 6d.)—Alfred the

Great, so called by his admiring family, was for a short time a successful novelist. Then the public tired of him and he became a nonentity except in his own eyes. A convenient operation gave him the opportunity of going to bed, and there he remained. Mr. Monkhouse has written an interesting psychological study of a thwarted man, but he has failed to breathe life into Alfred's four children and adoring wife. Chloe, the youngest daughter, describes them briefly, "We are too civilized and subtle and we sit around and talk and talk." So they do, and their conversation is very stilted.