5 SEPTEMBER 1914, Page 23

READABLE NOVELS.—Mrs. Vanderstein's Jewels. By Mrs. Charles Bryce. (John Lane.

6s.)—Few will be able to solve this admirable detective story, the only fault of which is its excessive length.—From an Islington Window. By M. Betham-Edwards. (Smith, Elder, and Co. 6a)—A series of little sketches of Islington in the "thirties"; they are charm- ingly written, and of the school of Cranford.—The Anvil. By Lilith Hope. (Chapman and Hall. 6s.)—This clever study of a girl of Spanish descent is marred by the unpleasant incident at the end, and by its many split infinitives.—The New Road. By Neil Munro. (William Blackwood and Sons. 6s.)—A Scottish story of friendship and the open road, brilliantly written, but with a bewildering amount of detail.