The s.s. ' Glory.' By Frederick Niven. Illustrated by Fred
Holmes. (William Heinemann. 3s. 6d. net.)—It is a rare pleasure for a reviewer to come across a novel which is wholly original, which breaks new ground, not only in its style or in its detail work, but in its subject-matter as well. Whatever his faults as a writer—and the story of the s.s. ` Glory' is neither elegant nor dignified—Mr. Niven is entirely unconventional. He writes, in general, of life on the cattle-boats which cross the Atlantic, and, in especial, of the " Push " on the s.s. ' Glory' and of her voyage ; he sees her with the fresh eyes of a young and decently educated man, who finds himself one—though by no means the most interesting—of her gang ; and he gives us the certain touch of first-hand observation and the liberal use of well-marked local colour, which are always delightful. The style of Mr. Niven's writing is scarcely energetic or terse enough for so vigorous a story as this ; it moves a little slowly, and is inclined to be too explanatory ; but we are, after all, moving along new lines in fiction, and must not be impatient of guidance on the way.
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