On the Children. By Annie Thomas (Mrs. Pender Cudlip). 3
vols. (F. V. White and Co.)—We cannot compliment Mrs. Pender Cudlip on her taste in plots. Surely it is possible to devise an interesting situation in life without having recourse to such sur- prising complications as we find in this story. To put the matter briefly, a certain Francis White is found, very much to the sur- prise of every one, to be Lord Rollamore, and then, after the lapse of some little time, is found not to be Lord B,ollamore. The threads of the plot which may be thus described are not worth disentangling. We found them excessively tiresome, and can hardly doubt that our readers would do the same. One thing certainly may be said for Mrs. Pender Cudlip's novel,—her characters have a certain look of life, and they talk like human beings. But why are they put through such extraordinary evolu- tions P The family vicissitudes of the Rollamores would suffice for a whole century of the peerage. The style is somewhat careless. What is meant by eyes "looking blearingly " ?
Previous page
