18 DECEMBER 1915, Page 25

READABLE NOVELS.—The Queen's Net. By Harold Begbie (Hodder and Stoughton.

6s.)—Theso tales of some women who have been helped by the Queen's Work for Women Fund do not claim to be typical ; they are genuine, original, and treated, for the most part, without exaggeration.—The Rearguard. By Sydney O. Grier. (William Blackwood and Sons. 6s.)- " Sydney Grier " is singularly at fault in providing a happy ending for her rather bleak story of a father's selfishness and a lover's mistaken chivalry.—Her Italian Marriage. By Mrs. Hugh Fraser and J. Crawford Fraser. (Hutchinson and Co. 6s.)—A novel which tells of the marriage of an American girl into a noble family of Rome ; although it is somewhat forced, it has in it some good writing and clover characterization.

The Grey Dawn. By Stewart Edward White. (Hodder and Stoughton. 6134—Mr. White's careful study of the life in San Francisco of a newly emigrated young couple is of considerable interest.--Hillary Marrtyn. By J. E. Patterson. (Jerrold and Sons. 6s.)—It seems a pity that this story of a self-satisfied young man should be so disconnected and aimless, for there is good work in it.