Love in .Pernicketty Town. By S. E. Crockett. (Hodder and
Stoughton. 6s.)—There are force and originality in Mr. Crockett's tale, but we must own that we do not much like it. A "mesmeric Evangelist,"—i.e., a man who works a revival to suit his own evil end—is a difficult subject to handle. And to tell the story of the mesmerised is even harder. Mr. Crockett is very clever in his dealing with his somewhat gruesome theme. On the whole we can accept the Evangelist; there are authorities for the existence of men gifted with such sinister powers. But in Jane, the girl whom he dominates, we refuse to believe. Surely the subjects of such influences are not of such a kind as she is pictured. And what, we should like to know, would be the opinion of an expert casuist about the physician's counsel to Adrian Roes: "Marry this girl although you don't love her; it is the only way to save her from madness and death"? But there is much in the novel that is of excellent quality. Perhaps the clerical scenes are the best. To tell the truth, we like Mr. Crockett most when he is furthest away from his special subject.
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