Ol'HEB NOVELS.—The Awakening. By Hugh and Edith Spender. (Grant Richards.
7s. 6d. net.)—This novel gives a not particularly original account of the difficulties which beset the early married life of two rather incompatible people. The interesting part of the book is the section describing life in Cologne during the English occupation. While the prepossessions of the authors are very apparent, they give an extremely fair summing up of what may be said on both the Allied and the German sides. There is a remarkable account of the home coming of the Professor's son, who is both a deserter and a Socialist, and who is taken by a German Junker as private secretary to help him in a history of the social evolu- tion of Germany during the War. Sabine and Sabina. By W. E. Norris. (Hutchinson. 75. 6d. net.)—Mr. W. E. Norris's courteous and benign mac gives us, as usual, a story of everyday life as lived by many slightly old-fashioned people of the upper classes. The story is told by the heroine's godfather, who is typical of Mr. Norris's favourite type of moral, but worldly, bachelor. It is, however, almost impossible to believe in the heroine's sudden change of attitude at the end of the story. It is of no use for the author to expect the reader, suddenly to believe that Sabina was secretly in love with her husband throughout the whole book. With the evidence to the contrary in every chapter of the story, a totally unsupported statement that such has been the case is quite incredible.—The Virgin of the Sun. By H. Rider Haggard. (Cassell. 7s. 6d. net. )— The opening chapters of this book may lead the reader to imagine that the author has forsaken the old paths for an entirely new adventure. But such an illusion will vanish when the hero reaches the inevitable haunt of savagery (Central America, this time), there to be hailed as a god and suitably entertained by the Sons of the Sun and the Daughters of the Moon, etc., etc.
To Him that Bath. By Ralph Connor. (Hodder and Stoughton. 7s. 6d. net.)—In his new novel about Labour unrest in present- day Canada the author of The Sky Pilot hardly does himself justice. The Labour situation is dealt with forcibly enough, but the plot as a whole is haphazard to a degree and the character drawing decidedly weak.---Vokano. By Ralph Straus. (Methuen. 75. 6d. net.)—An utterly impossible but rather delightful story about a cathedral-close type of young old maid, who, in a fit of midsummer madness, goes out "on the loose." The caricaturing is very cleverly done, the hard edges being blurred by a shading of humour and pathos.
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