21 AUGUST 1926, Page 24

BILLY PADLEY'S WIFE. By Norman Venner. (Heine- mann. 7s. 6d.)—We

are grateful to Mr. Norman Vernier for this sparkling comedy of manners. The conventional roles of hero and heroine are reversed, and it is Billy Padley who is possessed of the amiable casualness which leads to a diverting series of complications, and Ira Martinford, the heroine, has her hands full in trying to repair the disdoncerting slips" which -Billy constantly makes. There is a substratum of secret service and Bolshevist spies which gives substance to the plot, but the real charm lies in the humour and gay irresponsibility with which the author invests the book A delightful and refreshing piece of work, recommended for the holidays.