THERESA. By Arthur Schnitzler. (Constable. 7s. 6d.) —There is not
one bright moment in this gloomy " chronicle of a woman's life " : truth there may be, but there is no single glimmer of beauty. We meet Theresa at the age of sixteen, just before her father is taken to a lunatic asylum. We leave her (after she has been murdered by her illegitimate son) in a grave surmounted by a cheap, withered evergreen wreath, bearing the inscription " to my unfortunate sister." The book, which is written in clipped sentences and divided into one hundred and six mercifully short chapters, gives an account of Theresa's life with the innumerable families who enjoy her as governess, and of her many gloomy love affairs. It is all extraordinarily depressing, but if it is intended to be a study in misery, it certainly fulfills its purpose.
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