Octavia Hill A PrtomisING and exciting sub`ject for biographi- cal
investigation, Octavio. Hill belongs to that circle of remarkable Victorian women who defied convention and created controversy simply by exercising their rights as individuals. Unselfconsciously such women assumed par- ticipation in activities hitherto reserved for men, and in many cases the result was a splendid, imaginative and beneficial contribu- tion to society.
In Octavio Hill, by William Thompson Hill (Hutchinson, 16s.), Octavia's kinsman presents the woman through her work—pioneer of the National Trust and housing reformer. It is impressive, but it is not enough. A Cecil Woodham-Smith is needed to give us Octavia whole and alive, and bristling with opinion, prejudice and enthusiasm. As a biographer Mr. Hill is either too timid or too overawed by the achievement of his subject; too rigidly does he adhere to the framework of an official life. But perhaps his impartial assessment of Octavio Hill's extraordinary career will encour- age some biographer in search of a full-size
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