24 MAY 1919, Page 20

READA.BL1 Novnis.—Blue China. By B. M. Croker. (Hutchinson. fls. 9d.

net.)--Mrs. Croker achieves real drama in her new book in the scene in which a frenzied widow smashes a priceless collection of china as a revenge for having been jilted by the collector. The rest of the book is a quiet story quietly told, and chiefly concerned with the sister and nieces of Mr. Michael Durgan—the aforesaid collector.—The Wife who Came Alive. By William Caine. (Herbert Jenkins. 6s. net.)— The conspicuous point of this story is the extremely remarkable beauty of the heroine, and as the reader has to take this fact on trust the book is not entirely convincing.