5 SEPTEMBER 1925, Page 30

ilderlm. By Marie, Queen of Roumania. (Duckworth. Is. 6d. net.)—The

Queen of Roumania obviously obtains relief from the conventional royal duties which she performs so admirably by writing romances which, while vague as to date and place, give the reader the fullest flavour of the Middle Ages. Here we have two brothers, the dark and virtuous Sir Ivor—one might wish his surname was not Mac-Duach—and Ilderim, the Child of the Sun. A wicked queen loves Sir Ivor and, on his rejecting her advances, strikes at what he holds dearer than his life—his honour. Those readers who like this sort of fare will find it wry fully flavoured in Her Majesty's books.