Review Competition Result
The entry for the competition for a review of Sir Osbert Sitwell's new book The Four Continents Was sufficiently good, both in quantity and quality, to justify the setting of further competitions on the same lines from time to time. The con- ditions were quite stiff. Reviews had to be produced within a fortnight of the publication of the book. This, allowing for the fact that libraries and booksellers might in some cases have found it difficult to have copies available to all corners on that date and that none of the compettors had the usual flying
start given to professional reviewers by advance copies, meant that those who entered were willing to work within the normal time limits of reviewing, which are often strict to the point of harshness. But, the entries came in, none of them showed signs of undue haste, and the average level of quality compared very favourably with that of the small 'sprinkling of entries from professional writers.
The prizewinner is Miss Priscilla Jenkins, whose review was quite up to professional standards. She was no better than many other entrants in the essential function of giving general guidance to potential buyers of the book, but she was superior to all in founding her review on a solid basis of clear critical ideas. It is particularly interesting that Miss Jenkins also won the first prize in the Spectator Schools Competition a few months ago with a review of Stephen Spender's book The Creative Element. So these two Spectator competitions seem to have been successful in one of their major aims, which was to discover new writers of promise. Miss Jenkins's review is printed on page 208.
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