The Palace Beautiful. By L. T. Meade. (Cassell and Co.)—Mies
Mead treats her readers here to a downright romance, and a real treat it is. Three girls are left orphans with a slender supply of money. They have friends and would not lack comfortable homes, but they must be independent,—so at least "Primrose," who is the eldest of the three and the ruling spirit of the little family, wills that it should be. They hide themselves from their friends, and try to earn their own living, the eldest, it should be understood, being seventeen, the youngest eleven years of age. Naturally they fall among thieves, though they meet with honest people too. Of the thieves, the most piquantly described are of the commonest hind that sit on the tree of knowledge. The second sister has a literary turn, and believes that she can write a romance that will take the world by storm. Hero comes in a publisher of the kind who live upon their authors. He promises fame and future wealth for the consideration of a small payment in cash down. This is" a story for girls," and we fancy that there are a good many girls, and grown women too, who need to be warned against these swindlers. But we cannot pretend to analyse the exciting story which Miss Meade has put together in these pages. It is, as we have said, a romance. No one need ask whether it is probable ; even when our old friend, the long.lost brother with a mole on his arm, turns op, we accept him without any demur. The author knows how to make her characters move and talk like real living beings, and with this we are quite ready to be content.
Previous page
