3 NOVEMBER 1923, Page 38

WORD OF THE EARTH. By Anthony Richardson. (Heine- mann. 7s.

643. net.)

This little book is not properly a novel, but a series of conversations between a poet, a physicist, a shepherd, an idiot, and presumably the author' though his part in the matter is small. The charm of the book depends upon depth of thought and felicity of expression, and though the author very often gives us several consecutive pages which are successful, his technique is not equal to sustaining the note throughout the book. His reflections are not particularly original, but he does succeed in conveying to his readers the charm of the wild country of the Downs.