17 MAY 1945, Page 20

Shorter Notices ' or In Love with Life. By Miss

Gordon Holmes. (Hollis and Carter. 155.) THE sub-title of Miss Gordon Holmes' autobiography is "A pioneer career woman's story," and an exciting adventure story it is for any reader to whom adventure is not confined to the enduranc

• of unnecessary physical discomfort in the less prepossessing parts of the world. She was a pioneer in " the City," but there is no need to know anything about finance to enjoy her experiences. One feels Miss Gordon Holmes would have made a success in any field she had chosen, for she has that uncommon sense which marked great women like Florence Nightingale or Mary Kingsley, as well as their uncommon courage. All she claims for herself is " an extension of the ordinary mind : my brains are a somewhat enlarged edition of the average brain." She is essentially practical- minded, and what she has to say on subjects where she has first- hand experience has a piercing sanity.