Three Studies in English Literature : Kipling, Galsworthy, Shakespeare. By
Andre Chevrillon. Translated by Florence Simmonds. (Heinemann. 8s. 6d.)
Though there is nothing elaborate in the production of this book it is an excellent example of the confidence with which a well-proportioned page and dignified binding can inspire the reader. M. Chevrillon was one of the first, if not the first, of French critics to introduce Kipling to his countrymen, which he did through the medium of the Revue des Deux Mondes. The Kipling and Galsworthy are admirable examples of the technical criticism which the French have reduced almost to an exact science, and at the same time more fully reveal the intentions of these writers. His essay on Shake- speare is shorter and necessarily of a different kind, aiming rather to separate the essential genius of the two nations, and one feels that he has said something valuable when he speaks of the English pre-occupation with a truth (call it spiritual or what you will) above the truth of reason, and not amenable to logical exposition. Whether Kipling can really be traced back to Milton and Galsworthy (in contrast) to Shakespeare is a little puzzle for ingenious readers.
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