James. By W. Dane Bank. (Sidgwick and Jackson. 6s.) —James
Bowden was not a youth to be admired, and we confess that we are easily able to withstand his "animal magnetism." He was educated at the Council school of a Lancashire factory town, and at the boarding-school of -Slingford ; he afterwards went into the bat trade, "made his pile" as purveyor of a patent Lair lotion, dabbled in synthetic rubber, overreached himself in speculative finance, threw over the girl to whom he Was engaged, and saved his career by a Marriage- for- motley. From start 40
finish be bad no other motive than that of self-advancement, no other .means save unscrupulous "push." Yet Mr. Bank has succeeded in making of this unattractive hero a study of great interest; instead of a detailed portrait of one individual, he has drawn the type, and has painted with broad decisive lines its mind and desires. It is true that he falls into the usual mistake of indulging in an over-emphasized realism. The account of Mrs. Bowden's kitchen is an extreme and almost humorous example of the modem delight in the insignificant: "the plain wooden table was covered with a clean red cloth, of which the pattern was faded into vague- ness. The chairs were solid, with wooden seats, except one bent wood rocking-chair, which was cane-seated." But the author writes with adequate knowledge of the various industries and careers which James adopts, and keeps the love interest pleasantly in the background.
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