21 MAY 1927, Page 28

PANDEMONIUM. By Christopher Rover. (Richards. 7s. 6d.)--The setting of this

novel is more unconventional than the story itself. The background is Soviet Russia. But we doubt if the Bolshevik intrigues that give an undercurrent of mystery to the talc are to be taken as a serious representa- tion of life in Moscow since the Revolution. The character of Princess Bachourine, on the other hand, strikes us as being a true and subtle reflection of Russian temperament • and her portrait gives the book its small distinction. For the rest, the . story, with its two rival lovers, an Englishman and an Italian, is ordinary, if pleasant, enough.

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