19 OCTOBER 1901, Page 21

OTHER NOVELS.

The Just and the Unjust. By Richard Begot. (John Lane" 6s.)—Mr. Bagot's new story deals with no theological con- troversies, but none the less it is excellent reading. It is purely a novel of society, and is interesting chiefly because it gives real portraits of the world as we know it, though fortunately we do not all of us belong to the "smart set," or make many acquaintances of the type of Mrs. George Wollaston. This lady is the villain of the piece, and does as much harm as she can, first out of "pure cussedness," and then for the more sub- stantial end of blackmaiL But when it comes to blackmail, it is a case of the biter bit. This tit-for-tat is engineered by Mr. Fortescue, a character of a type without which the modern society novel seems incomplete. This is the quiet, polished, middle-aged gentleman, possessed of much worldly wisdom and of chambers in the Albany, who extricates the impetuous characters from most of their difficulties. Readers who like a novel dealing with the world they live in, and peopled not with dummies but with real live characters who act from understandable motives, will find The Just and the Unjust a thoroughly amusing and interesting book.