FLAMINGO. By Mary Borden. (Heinemann. 7s. 6d.)- Miss Mary Borden
has surpassed herself ; and the con- struction of her newest and best novel is very unusual*. She begins by showing us pictures of New York and London, the former " a portrait in stone and steel and reinforced concrete," the latter an etching of an old lady who " huddled herself together in her dingy wraps of mist and smoke." Then she gives us complete biographies of the characters, so that we know them intimately before they all meet one another. A Cabinet Minister, Victor Joyce, whose " obtuseness had more than once saved the Conservative Party from going to pieces," is sent from England to confer with President Coolidge. It is not until he, with his secretary, his wife and her friend arrive in New York that the book begins to move swiftly. It is remarkable for its disciplined emotion.
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