Romances of Roguery : an Episode in the History of
the Novel. By Frank Wadleigh Chandler. In 2 parts. Part I., "The Picaresque Novel in Spain." (Macmillan and Co. Ss. 6d.)—Mr. Chandler's work is essentially academic, being an essay submitted in qualifying for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Columbia University, and it is, consequently, very thorough. Whether it was worth while to read, classify, and describe all these old stories, in which the principal character is not the hero but the anti-hero, need not be questioned. It may, however, be said with certainty that none but very conscientious students of literature need trouble to look at the book. The second part still promised will be quite another story, for it will deal with the Spanish influence beyond the Peninsula and the progeny of the original picaro in France, Germany, and England, as depicted by Smollett, Le Sage, and the rest. Even Lazarillo de Tormes, the typical figure in this kind, has only a qualified interest for English readers, but we are all concerned about Gil Bias and Ferdinand, Count Fathom. Still, it is well that there should be Universities to encourage work not designed for the general reader, and Mr. Chandler has compiled a monograph which will have to be con- sulted.by whoever wishes to write with intelligence on a great variety of authors from Cervantes to Smollett and Beaumarchais, —for Figaro descends not precisely from the picaro, but from the gracioso, who as his counterpart in drama.
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