19 JULY 1919, Page 21

READABLE NOVELS. —Magdalene. By E. S. Stevens. (Cassell. 7s. net.)—Magdalene

is a novel with a purpose, but makes interesting general reading. It is a clever study of tempera- ment, and although, since it deals with the affairs of the last two or three years, it inevitably includes the events of the war, can by no means be classed as a " war story."—The Petals of Lao-Tze. By J. Allan Dunn. (Skeffingtons. 6s. 9d. net.)—A story of adventure in which the hero penetrates into Tibet, subsequently escaping all pursuit in his flight to New York bearing the last of the Petals of the title. The Talleyrand Maxim. By J. S. Fletcher. (Ward and Lock. 6s. net.)— A story of life in a country town in which the principal characters con- trive to be almost as sinister as if they had a much more exciting place of residence.