Mr. E. B. Osborn in The Morning Post.
“‘The Loom of Youth’ has some of the faults of the modern realistic story of Public School life. But these faults are insignificant in comparison with its unusual merits, chief of which is the sharp actuality of its characterisation.... The boys and masters we meet are of reasonable flesh and blood; of the latter ‘The Bull,’ once an England forward and now games master, is the dominant personality.”
Mr. J. A. Fort in The Spectator.
“The work, which seems to me one of extraordinary power, seems to me also an honest attempt to ‘tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,’ as the author himself saw it. I think that the writer is, as a matter of fact, a very good witness in regard to certain phases of Public School life, and the publication of his book is, I believe, an event of considerable importance in the educational world.”
Mr. Edwin Pugh in The Bookman.
“In ‘The Loom of Youth’ we have the truth presented with austere sincerity, with dignity and restraint.... Indeed this first book is in itself a fine achievement, well conceived, well done in every way, and wholly praiseworthy, alike for the excellence of its writing and the worthiness of its purpose.”
Mr. H. W. Massingham in The Nation.
“I have read few books that have interested me more than Mr. Waugh’s ‘Loom of Youth.’ It is in one respect an almost miraculous production.... It is a most straightforward account; it cannot have been invented, and yet I thought it sufficiently delicate.”
Punch.
“Prophecy is dangerous; but from a writer who has proved so brilliantly that, for once, jeunesse peut, one seems justified in hoping that enlarged experience will result in work of the highest quality.”