16 FEBRUARY 1929, Page 29

THE PROPHET'S WIFE. By R. 0. Prowse. (Gollanez. 7s. 6d.)—John

Hepworth, the founder of a new ethical society, is that rare thing in fiction—a great man whose greatness we are actually made to feel. His combination of intense vitality and independence with certain obtuse qualities is true to human nature. Susan, who values little things so much, who is overpowered by her husband's massive brain, and who wilts under his self-sufficient objectivity, is equally lifelike ; and the tragedy of their marriage, analysed with such pene- trating insight, is the more poignant because both of them are fundamentally sensitive and unselfish. Mr. Prowse demonstrates again that the oldest theme can become new in the hands of a genuine literary artist.