29 SEPTEMBER 1928, Page 25

IN THESE DAYS. By Robert Brymer. (Brentano's. 7s. 6d.)—This novel

deals with modern industrial unrest. The scene is a Northern city, with its mills and ironworks. The hero is Tim Turner, an ardent young Socialist who finds employment under the Quaker ironmaster, Mark Brough, and lodgings with John Ferris, also a Quaker and one of Brough's foremen. The characters of Brough, Ferris and Tim himself are, in the early stages, so naturally drawn, and the whole industrial atmosphere is so well suggested, that the story awakens great expectations. But its development is disappointing. Mr. Brymer drifts into melodrama—good enough of its own kind, but worthless as a serious reflection of current social problems.