25 JANUARY 1919, Page 20

READABLE NOVELS. — The Silent Battlefield. By Mary L. Pendered. (Chapman

and Hall. 7s.)—A story of an illegitimate child, whose mother "makes good" in a country shop, which the son expands into a groat business. The characters of the drama are well drawn.--Mockery. By Alexander Macfarlan. (W. Heinemann. 6s.)—A highly ingenious study of temperament, the hero, John Horton Grant; being an adventurer whose in- ability to tell the truth, even to himself, coulee many compli- cations in his relations to other people. The mocking spirit of the title in ingeniously developed, and the story is a clever piece of work.—Ifearta of Three. By Jack London. (Mille and Boon. lie.)—A- story written for the cinema, and having the characteristics of its school.