The Cathedrals of Southern Spain. By C. Gascoigne Hartley (Mrs.
Walter M. Gallichan). (T. Werner Laurie. 6s. net.)—This little book of Mrs. Gallicban's is one of real value. The Spanish cathedrals are little known to English travellers, and they have been described for the most part by French writers bent upon showing that the inspiration of Spanish ecclesiastical architecture came entirely from France. Mrs. Gallichan conclusively rebuts this assertion. She shows that the Spaniards had developed a national style of church architecture (founded on the Byzantine) before the beginning of the Moorish invasion, and that this style persisted right on to the eighteenth century, though it was, of course, largely modified first of all by Moorish influence, then by Gothic importation from France, and, lastly, by the inspiration of the Renaissance. Unfortunately Mrs. Gallichan has had to cast her volume more or less in guide-book form, and has not, therefore, full opportunity to develop her argument. None the less, her points are well and clearly made, and her book will be of interest both to the student and the traveller.
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