Barbara Wi nslow, Rebel. By Beth Ellis. (W. Blackwood and
Sons. 6s.)—This is a story of Monmouth's Rebellion. It is con- structed on the usual lines. Barbara is, of course, a very beauti- ful young woman, and as courageous as she is beautiful. With a brother hiding from the laws, a friend who is betrothed to the said brother, and her own lover, she has no reason to complain of a want of incident in her life. And, of coarse, Jeffreys appears on the scene, and things move on very briskly indeed. It is in her picturing of Jeffreys that Miss Ellis makes the strong point of her story. She has formed a theory of his character, which may or may not be defensible, but which is certainly consistent. and in a way accounts for his behaviour. There is too much of the melodramatic about the story, and the dialogue is wanting in ease and naturalness. Still, Barbara Winslow, Rebel, is not a wholly commonplace book.
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