8 APRIL 1905, Page 24

The Women of Shakespeare's Family. By Mary Rose. (John Lane.

Is. net.)—This book is largely made up of suppositions, as indeed might be expected, so little beyond names and dates is known about Shakespeare's mother, wife, and daughters. Miss Rose supposes "that Anne Hathaway was a fair delicate woman, looking younger than her years" ; that William Shakespeare's children were "dearly loved by the somewhat solitary girl, their aunt Joan"; that Judith Shakespeare "could not fail to take a deep interest in the stirring events of the times in which she lived " ; and so forth. We can do all this, it is true, for ourselves ; still, there is no harm in it; and it is only fair to say that Miss Rose has been careful to do her best with the few facts that she has to deal with.