THE CHATEAUX OF TOURAINE.
The Chateaux of Touraine. By M. H. Lansdale. Illustrated with Pictures by Jules Guerin, and by Photographs. (Eveleigh Nash. 24s. net.)—The strange drawings of M. Guerin are perhaps the chief attraction of this handsome book. At first, and to the inartistic eye, they are more startling than beautiful ; and some of them suffer more than others from the muddy atmo- sphere of their reproduction. But it cannot be denied that they have a charm and distinction all their own. They breathe in several cases the spirit of the days when these glorious buildings were at their height of life and splendour. This may be said specially, perhaps, of the twilight picture of the Chateau de Loches seen from the town. That the actual drawing is exquisite almost goes without saying. The other illustrations, all from fine photographs, show us often unfamiliar corners. Even those who have had the happiness of wandering in Touraine may have missed the mediaeval castle of Luynes, perched high on its ridge above the Loire. Neither does every one know Cheverny, which has the unusual fate of being inhabited by descendants of its fifteenth-century founder. And Azay-le-Rideau, with all its exquisite, dreamy beauty, is hardly so familiar to the world as the great names of Chambord, Chenonceaux, and the rest. When the present writer visited Azay it still contained tho collection of most interesting historical portraits — from Charles VII. to Louis XV.—which was sold and dispersed in 1901. Azay and its pictures ought never to have been parted. The book is agreeably written, and full of historical and antiquarian information. Those who know Touraine will read it with interest, and those who do not will at least wish to make the wonderful province the scene of their next holiday.
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