I commend it as a sound, unpretentious,
honestly-written book. _Sir Julian Verny_, a baronet with brains and
a very difficult temper, falls a captive to _Marian's_ proud and
compelling beauty. Then, just before the War flames up, secret service
claims him, and he returns from a dangerous mission irretrievably
crippled. _Marian_ fails him. True, she disdains to be released, but
out of pride not out of love. It is little grey suppressed _Stella_
(her light has been hidden under the dull bushel of a Town Clerk's
office) who comes into her kingdom and wins back an ultra-sensitive
despairing man to the joy of living and working and the fine humility
of being dependent instead of masterful. There are so many _Julians_
and there's need of so many _Stellas_ these sad days that it is well
to have such wholesome doctrine stated with so courageous an optimism.
* * * * *
There is a sentence on page 149 of _A Castle to Let_ (CASSELL) which,
though not for its style, I feel constrained to quote: "It was a
glorious day, the sunshine poured through the green boughs, and the
moss made cradles in which most people went to sleep with their
novels." Well, given a warm day and a comfortable resting-place, this
book by Mrs. BAILLIE REYNOLDS would do excellently well either to
sleep or keep awake with, according to your mood.
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