26 NOVEMBER 1927, Page 31

THE PRIVATE LIFE OF CHARLES IL By Arthur Irwin Dasent.

(Cassell. 18s.)-Mr. Dasent's book is chiefly concerned with " the chargeable ladies about the Court " in the time of Charles II. He reproduces with painstaking precision the gossip of the period, not to mention more than is meet (or even interesting) of the scurrilous lampoons. The reader becomes somewhat nauseated by the society in which he finds himself. To do Mr. Dasent justice, however, he emphasizes the fact that the King cannot be judged by his company. He forces us to like the able Stuart who had so much wit and kindness, and, if we believe Mr. Dasent, political acumen, to set against the despicable elements of his character.