The Poets' Corner. By Max Beerbohm. — British Freshwater Fishes.
By J. R. Norman.—A Book of Lilies. By Fred Stoker. The Bayeux Tapestry. (King Penguin. as. each.)
The Poets' Corner first appeared nearly forty years ago. Published in an elegant volume, at once slender and spacious, it contained the caricatures of twenty famous poets. Today, some of the then contemporary characters and incidents have receded a little dimly into the past, but Beerbohm's drawings are as brilliant, his satire as penetrating, as ever. Malice without rancour is rare ; so is wit: so is the ability to combine a simple generalisation with acute observation and attention to the apparently frivolous detail. In this reprint of The Poets' Corner are included reproductions of four of the original water-colours used in Rossetti and His Circle (1926), some brilliant drawings from Pick-me-up, and an Introduction by John Rothenstein ; there is also a useful bibliography of Sir Max's published works and some amusing notes, contributed by the author, on the plates. The drawings undoubtedly lose by being so diminished in size, but the colour is very faithful to the original edition. The other three' King Penguins just published are all good. J. R. Norman's volume on Freshwater Fishes is fascinating, and the illustrations taken from Donovan's Natural History of British Fishes, 1802-8, are excellently reproduced. The book on lilies has a most informative text by Fred Stoker, and the sixteen colour plates by Lilian Snelling are delightful. Finally, The Bayeux Tapestry, with an interesting introduction by Sir Eric Maclagan, is a most useful addition to the series. The editor is to be congratu- lated on these four admirable volumes.
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