29 AUGUST 1896, Page 25

A Clever Wife. By W. Pett Ridge. (R. Bentley and

Son.)— Mr. Henry Halliwell, a gentleman who lives by drawing for the periodical Press, marries Miss Cicely Westerbam, a " new woman" who writes novels of a kind which it is needless to describe further than by saying it was such as a "new woman" would write. To put it more correctly, she writes one novel which is a great success, and another that is not a success either great or little. How these two publications affect the futures of Mr. and Mrs. Halliwell is Mr. Ridge's secret, and we will respect it. It must suffice to say that the story is told with much briskness and some real fun. A love-making of the orthodox kind is thrown in by way of alterative. A misogynist is converted from his error, and the process is entertaining.