The Separatist. By A New Writer. (Sir Isaac Pitman and
Sons. 6s.)—The Separatist is a romance of the Great Rebellion, and for a first novel shows decided promise. But the author will do well to essay a rather more modern theme, as the dialogue of the seventeenth century is more than he (or she) can manage. Sometimes he contrives a properly dignified diction, but every now and then an expression such as "So here you are again" occurs, and strikes an extraordinarily false note. On the other hand, in spite of the difficulties as to dialogue, it is as well for a young writer to have for a theme so thrilling a subject as that provided by the events of English history in the Cromwellian epoch. Although it cannot be said that the author makes the most of his material, a good deal of interest is awakened by the mere fact that his characters move among scenes so exciting. The book is, as we have said, promising in spite of its defects.
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