THE EMPEROR FALLS IN LOVE. By Octave Aubry. Translated from
the French by Henry Longan Stuart. (Har- pers. 7s. 6d.)—The new fashion in fiction of taking the stories of famous people, and writing them in the form of novels, is seldom satisfactory. If a tale is already known, then any interest that it may have as a tale is disposed of ; and readers are likely to be irritated by having another picture of a celebrity thrust between them and their own image of that personage. Therefore, unless the manner is excellent, nothing of value remains. This new romance of Napoleon and Jose- phine has very little to commend it. When a chapter begins with the words, " Just a little note, in a fine uneven hand, upon dainty blue paper bordered with gold," the reader will guess what to expect. When the note is later described as
the tender little missive reposing in the inner pocket of Bonaparte's tunic," it is clear that his expectations are borne out. Josephine is perhaps a little more alive in these pages than Napoleon, but she is a tawdry person, as here depicted, and we can feel no interest in her.
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