3 AUGUST 1929, Page 17

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In reply to the

kind letter of " H. M. W.," I confess that, in my review of Mr. Whitfield's book on Mrs. Gaskell, I deliberately intended my reference to the " four greatest biographies in our language " to be challenging ! The four greatest biographies, for me, are Boswell's Johnson, Lockhart's Scott, Trevelyan's Macaulay, and Mrs. Gaskell's &mai. But I agree with " H. M. W." that opinions will differ widely about the last two.—I am, Sir, &c., GILBERT THOMAS. Gidea Park, Essex.