Strained Relations. By Cyril Alington. (Macmillan. 6s.)— Mr. Alington puts
a series of enticing quotations on the cover of his little book which afford an exceedingly appropriate dish of hors d'oeuvres for the light repast he is about to put before us. The sparkle and effervescence of this kind of comedy is apt to go off when the element of surprise is taken away. This being so, it is better to make no further comment on the book than that it is a comedy of masquerade. It would be too much to expect Mr. Alington to give us so much amusement without one self-conscious reflection as to the entertainment likely to be afforded by the fact that the Head-Master of Eton has written such a book. But the little scherzo is wonderfully free from this element, and we can heartily congratulate the author on his rower of detaching himself from his environment.
OTHER NOVELS.—Victorian. By Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick. (Hutchinson. 7s. 6d.)—Mrs. Sidgwick depicts a hero whose Victorian attitude as a husband is rudely interrupted by the War. He has the good sense when he comes back and finds with what ability his wife has conducted his affairs in his absence to accept the situation and admit her as a comrade. The whole story is exceedingly amusing, and the sketches of the various characters are painted with Mrs. Sidgrrick's usual brilliancy.
in the _Mayor's Tallow. By J. S. Fletcher. (John Lane. 7s. 6d. net.)—An ingenious story, in the first chapter of which His Worship the Mayor is found lying in his own parlour with a rapier wound through his heart. The reader who likes un- ravelling mysteries will find plenty of entertainment in following the clues put into his hands by the author.—A Mad Marriage. By Katharine Tynan. (Collins. 7s. 6d. net.)—Katharine Tynan gives us rather more plot than we are accustomed to in her new story, A Mad Marriage, which begins with the trial of the heroine's mother for the murder of her husband. The latter part of the book contains amusing descriptions of life in an English country house.
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