Ede. 3 vols. (Remington and Co.)—The anonymous author of this
novel is evidently an inexperienced writer, and the scheme of the story is somewhat absurd. The heroine is tile only child of a wealthy banker, who, being absorbed in himself and his business, does nothing to make Ede's life interesting and enjoyable to her. Tired of the monotony of home, she runs away, determined to find excitement in earning her own living, and obtains employment as a china-painter in a large porcelain factory. She lodges with some working people, and becomes engaged to a young working man who for her sake has jilted a girl in his own class of life. During her engagement she indulges, however, in a good deal of philandering with her young employer; and when by an accident her identity is discovered, and she is restored to her father, she throws over her humble fiancé, who is, perhaps, rightly punished for his former faithlessness, and marries her wealthy suitor. It will be seen that the story does not lend itself very readily to lifelike treatment, and much of the book is quite worthless ; but the members of the Bassett family are sketched with an amount of vigour and humour which renders it impossible to speak of the novel as devoid of promise. We may draw the writer's attention to the fact that girls of the social rank of Ede Verney and Miss Ashley do not speak of their parents as "pa" and " ma."
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