6 JULY 1912, Page 34

Hector Graeme. By Evelyn Brentwood. (John Lane. 6s.)— This is

a long history of one of the most disagreeable persons it has ever been the lot of the present writer to meet in fiction. As a character study it is extremely clever. Hector Graeme, the hero, with his vanity, his boastfulness, his genius, and his sullen temper, lives before our eyes as a real human being. The descriptions of battles in the book are full of interest, at any rate for the lay reader; whether they would stand the criticism of the military expert is another question.