London for the Literary Pilgrim. By William Kent. (Rocidiff. 215.)
MR. WILLIAM KENT is an industrious compiler of books about London (" the great literary Mecca"); his knowledge is wide, he is anxious to share it, and he is properly disturbed that men like Keats and Shelley should still not be commemorated in Westminster Abbey (" our great national Valhalla "). A book like this must necessarily be individual, selective and reflective of the author's prejudices. Covering a wide field, he is unlikely to escape errors and omissions in points of detail ; no one will seriously quarrel with Mr. Kent, for instance, for not stating that Harrison Ainsworth lived at Kensal Manor House. Again, one may regret that the length of the Charles Lamb entry throws all the other entries out of balance, but one soon ceases to wonder why Edgar Wallace and T. P. O'Connor appear but not J. A. Spender or Oscar Wilde, why Charles Booth is included but not Henry Mayhew, and why Austin Dobson appears but not Praed or W. S. Gilbert. Someone must be left out, and Mr. Kent is to be congratulated on having included so many who are essential. More disconcerting is his passion for quoting obituary notices from The Times and giving long lists of people who attended meetings and funerals. He particularly invites attention to the "illustrious names" of those who have visited Carlyle's house in Chelsea. It may gratify some readers to learn that, among others still more eminent, C. B. Fry, Arthur Mee, Denis Mackail, Gracie Fields and Alec Waugh have all found time to go there, but many must feel that Mr. Kent's undiscriminating zeal spoils what is other- wise a useful, informative book.
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