Redwood Ranch. By Bessie Merchant. (S.P.C.K. 2e. 6d.)— Notwithstanding the
somewhat amateurish adventures of young Oscar Layne this story of an isolated Californian ranch does give the reader a notion of the life led by a settler's family. The characters are natural, and develop just those qualities we expect from their environment. In its essentials the moral of Redwood Ranch is being repeated to-day on every frontier of the Empire. The good man of the house fails to return at the appointed time, the wife assumes an anxiety and a responsibility which a domestia household at home can hardly realize, and the children in their teens go out to face dangers which in the Christmas holidays of the Old Country -brill Tom and Mary between tea and bed time. A fresh, cheerfully written tale this, with something of the scent of the Redwoods in it and sure to interest youthful readers.
Previous page
