Mr. A. F. Fremantle's England in the Nineteenth Century, 1801-1805
(Allen and Unwin, 16s.), is evidently intended to be the first of several—perhaps many—volumes covering the century. It thus begins with two substantial chapters describing the condition of the country and the general methods of government in 1800. These are interesting, show wide reading, and contain much curious detail. The narrative chapters that follow are readable, but suffer from the author's tendency to digress into attractive side-issues. Pitt's resignation in 1801 is confidently attributed to the Irish Roman Catholic question alone ; recent work on the subject inspires grave doubt as to whether that time-honoured explanation is not too simple. Mr. Fremantle has the historic temper, but he has not planned his book with sufficient care, and planning counts for much in such an ambitious enter- prise as this. Yet the volume shows real promise, and the next instalment will be awaited with interest.
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