Fiction
BROAD ACRES. By J. E. Cranswick. (Constable. 7s. 6d.). —This is a long and rather complicated account of country life and manners in Yorkshire in the 'eighties. The story hinges on the identification of a valuable mare—sold early in the story to an American—at a time when the fortunes of her former owners are alarmingly reduced. To this is added a tangled web of love affairs involving the squire's eldest son, his misunderstood younger brother, a beautiful but penniless orphan, and a mill-owner's heiress who comes to live on a neighbouring farm. The confusion is only disentangled at the cost of a rather arbitrary double tragedy. There is very little characterization,' but the leisurely unexciting narrative with its sprinkling of melo- dramatic incident will appeal to those who prefer their fiction not too highly seasoned.
Previous page
