17 JUNE 1922, Page 21

Mothers-in-Law. By the Baroness von Hutten. (Cassell. 7s. 6d. net.)—This

is another story which, like one noticed re- cently, deals with intimate Italian life. In the present case the girl who is married to an Italian marche.se is an American, not an Englishwoman. She, however, is not the heroine of the book, which role is filled by the " mothers-in-law " of the title. The contrast between the two women is ingeniously done, and the author has even spared some careful character-drawing for the young Italian marchese, Sappho, who at first sight is so exceed- ingly virtuous as to be uninteresting. The peculiar mentality of the Italians with regard to children forms one of the motives of the book, while the melodramatic episode of the change of babies is so managed that it seems completely credible.