26 NOVEMBER 1910, Page 25

Sir Pulteney : a Fantasy. By E. D. Ward. (Methuen

and Co. is. net.)—"E. D. Ward" has written a political satire which is extremely amusing, and is so obviously the work of an accom- plished author, that its readers may give themselves an additional

pleasure in attempting to penetrate his disguise. The principal fault that can be found with Sir Pulteney is its slightness. The ingenious underlying idea, ingeniously worked out for a few chapters, leads to nothing, and the book fizzles out rather ignominiously before reaching its hundredth page. But for half- an-hour in the train it may be recommended as an excellent distraction. Readers of the Spectator will no doubt be as amused as we were by the references to that journal.