22 FEBRUARY 1919, Page 19

READABLE HoyELS.—The Tale of Mr. Tubbs. By J. hi Buekrose.

(Hodder and Stoughton. 65.)—Mr. J. E. Buokrose has abandoned his usual vein of delicate comedy for something nearly allied to farce, and the book is therefore not so dis- tinguished as the author's former works. We may hope that in the future he will return to his own much mom subtle and delicate method.—The Statue in the Wood. By Richard Pryce. (Collins. 6s.)—The author boldly takes the "seventies " as the date of this story, which is concerned with the romantic adventures of a young widow.