Erica. By Mrs. Henry de in Pasture (Lady Clifford). (Smith,
Elder and Co. 6s.)—The difference between the Victorian novel in three volumes and the modern six-shilling story is that when an author wishes to write a long book it has to be published in three instalments at six shillings, with an interval between each, instead of appearing at the good old price of thirty-one shillings and sixpence all together. The modern plan is cheaper for the public, but it must be confessed that art suffers, for in such an interval as that which has elapsed between the publication of Master Christopher and Erica the interest in the set of characters depicted is apt to wane. Another volume of the series is promised by Lady Clifford at a later date, but how much simpler it would have been if we could have had all three together ! The present story suffers from the fact that the central character is the most unsympathetic of the company whose acquaintance we all made a year ago. Erica, whose fantastic Christian name seems peceliarly inappropriate, is a hard and worldly young person with nothing but her looks to recommend her, and although Lady Clifford dwells constantly on the superior quality of those looks, still the reader feels far more detestation for Erica than he would probably have done if he had met her in the flesh. The sketch of Reinhardt, the Jew millionaire, who is a new character, is well done, and Lord and Lady Erriff continue their cleverly realized careers. From an artistic point of view the death of their eldest son, Tom Garry, follows a little too hard upon that of Master Christopher himself, which occurs in the sixth chapter of the present volume, and one cannot but think that the author, who is obviously fond of her heroine, shrank from the misery which Erica would have been bound to endure in trying to live up to the severe moral standard of her husband. What Erica would make of the education of the hope of the Erriffs can only be conjectured, but people who are interested in this series of stories will look forward to hearing it all in good time.
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