Tales of Two People. By Anthony Hope. (Methuen and Co.
6s.)—We are inclined to prefer "Anthony Hope's" short stories to his long, not so much on the score of literary merit as on that of power of entertainment. And among these short stories we should place first those that are, so to speak, the least responsible. Of the sixteen included in this volume, making, we may say, a total of good quantity as well as quality, we should give the highest marks to the two that come last in order. The Duke of Belleville—be careful to pronounce the name as "Bevvle "—has something farcical about him, genteelly farcical, let it be understood. And he is vastly entertaining. His experiences with his allotment—for he wants to see what work is like—are quite admirable. "Prudence and the Bishop" comes high in our list. But "Anthony Hope" shows us quite different samples of his work. In the two " Duke " stories the second of the "two people" is not very important; it is the Duke only that we care about. In "Miss Gladwin's Chance," on the other hand, the two —we might say the three—make a fine study.
Previous page
