The Fields of Dulditch. By Mary E. Mann. (Digby, Long,
and Co. 6s.)—This is a collection of stories telling of the lives of the
labourers in the fields around the village of Dulditch. They are written with a sympathetic knowledge of the tragedies and the humours of the country people. The character sketch of "Our Mary" is delightful, but hardly prepares one for the grimness of some of the other chapters. The realistic descriptions of the almost savage lives of some of the people are, perhaps, carried rather far, and they leave the reader with a feeling of hopeless depression. The land is the only hope and outlook for these labourers, and in bad seasons such as that described in "Wolf- Charlie," or in miserable old age such as that of Rosa Weeks, they have no chance of earning or saving, and more than any other evil they dread the almost inevitable workhouse. Though the book is not one to enliven a dark winter's day, it is full of interest, and the style and character of the writing redeem the squalor of the themes.
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