[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
Sm,—I have great sympathy with Miss Lea and her demand for a readable novel every day, but between publishing seasons the readable novels are few and far between. The space I allotted to Miss Miles's novel was not stolen from any better novels, and I cannot really agree that a reviewer
can fairly condemn a novel without giving reasons for his 'condemnation. I agree, too, that in many cases the plot of a novel need only be barely indicated, but M. March's remarkable novel is not of a kind to have a general appeal, and by describing it at some length I hoped- that I might prevent it falling into unsympathetic hands. Of course, there are plots and plots. The plot of an unimportant writer is unimportant, but in a novel of any serious value the plot is inextricably part of the author's attitude and cannot be ignored by the critic.—! am, Sir, &c., .
9- Woodstock Close, Oxford. . - GRAHAM GREENE.
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