John Knox. By Marion Harland. (G. P. Putnam's Sons. 5s.)
—This is one of a series of "Literary Hearthstones," a connection in which one would hardly expect to find the name of John Knox. It may be taken as certain that he would have himself resented the classification. He wrote, it is true, but only because to write was to address a larger audience than the voice could reach ; sometimes, indeed, it was only through the pen that he could express himself; but his was assuredly not a "literary hearthstone." However this may be, Miss Harland has written a readable book. That it was absolutely wanted can hardly be affirmed, but being here, it may be welcomed. The balance is held fairly enough. Knox was in no wise perfect, nor does his latest biographer seek to prove that he was ; but he was a great power, and this we are made to see in these pages. For good or bad, Knox influenced his country more profoundly and more lastingly than did any other sixteenth-century Reformer. That he was even more intolerant than his contemporaries had something, doubtless, to do with this result, but it does not make his biography more pleasant reading. Miss Harland does her best to bring out the human side of him. This is the beat aspect of her book.
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