The war has naturally given a tremendous impetus to Military and Naval publications. These abound, and deal very particularly with such subjects as the possibilities of a German Invasion, Military Tactics, Mobilisation, Voluntary Service, Equipment, and the like. The War Office, Past and Present is dealt with by Captain Owen Wheeler (Methuen), and Messrs. Hodder & Stoughton publish a series of studies of the British, French, Russian and German Armies "From Within."
Much attention is given to Aerial Reconnaissance, as in Brigadier-General Henderson's book (Murray), and in Mr. Ledeboer's translation of Commandant Duchene's Flight without Formulæ (Longmans). The Despatches of Sir John French are published by Messrs. Chapman & Hall.
Many books are written about the Navy. Two historical studies call for notice: The Navy Under the Early Stuarts, by C. D. Penn (The Faith Press, Leighton Buzzard and Manchester), and The Old Scots Navy, from 1689-1710, edited for the Navy Records Society by J. Grant, LL.B. The conditions of modern Naval warfare are treated of by many experts both as regards the use of such different units as the Torpedo-Boat, the Cruiser or the Battleship. The Naval Battle is discussed by Lieutenant A. Baudry, assisted by Captain G. Laur (of the French Army), and with an Introduction by Admiral Sir Reginald N. Custance, G.C.B. (Hugh Rees).
Opportunities of Travel have necessarily been curtailed since the war began, but up till then a good deal of adventure, chiefly in the South American Continent, has been recorded. The Upper Reaches of the Amazon, by J. F. Woodroffe (Methuen), The Amazing Argentine, by John Foster Fraser (Cassell), Bolivia, Its People and Its Resources, by P. Wallé, translated by B. Miall (Fisher Unwin),—these volumes alone would suffice to show the marked trend of adventurous interest, nor is Tropical Africa overlooked, as witness Captain Stigand's book on Administration there (Methuen), then Canada is emphasised as The Land of Open Doors in a work by Mr. J. Burgon Bickersteth, with a Foreword by Earl Grey (Wells Gardner); Mr. Hamilton Fyfe gives us The Real Mexico (Heinemann) and Mr. Lowes Dickinson publishes Appearances, being interesting Notes of his Experiences as the holder of the Albert Kahn Travelling Fellowship (Dent).
It is an interesting coincidence, if nothing more, that a year unhappily marked by the destruction of so many foreign churches of priceless medieval design—Rheims Cathedral, for instance—should have been especially noticeable for its publications on Architecture. First we gladly welcome Cathedrals and Cloisters of Northern France, with illustrations from original photographs, by Elise Whitlock Rose and Vida Hunt Francis (Putnams); equally welcome is Mr. Loisel's fine illustrated monograph, La Cathédrale de Rouen (Laurens), which includes a list of the succeeding architects who have worked upon it from 1214 to the present day. Here too perhaps ought to be mentioned Mr. A. J. de Havilland's Storied Windows (Blackwood)—a study of old church glass, from the twelfth century to the Renaissance, especially in France.
Coming to our own beloved shrines, we read with delight the Dean of Gloucester's Secrets of a Great Cathedral (Dent), and appropriately comes Mr. Bumpus's Guide to Gothic Architecture (Werner Laurie). To set the seal upon all Mr. Geoffrey Scott presents—through Messrs. Constable—his Architecture of Humanism, a brilliant and original work by a gifted author. Some attention has also been given to Domestic Architecture, and particularly to that of the Georgian Period both in England and Ireland. The Count de Soissons enquires into The Æsthetic Purpose of Byzantine Architecture (Murray & Evendon), and Dr. Coomaraswamy continues his studies of Indian Architecture, which (Part VII.) is issued by Messrs. Luzac.
The Art publications of the year are largely devoted to Decorative Design, and to the Reproduction of Medieval Illumination and Embroidery, as, for example, The Book of Kells, described by Sir Edward Sullivan, and illustrated in colour by The Studio Press, or again, The Book of the Bayeux Tapestry, issued by Messrs. Chatto & Windus, in coloured facsimile, with an Introduction from Mr. Hilaire Belloc. In this connexion the sumptuous volumes of Messrs. Batsford's Library of Decorative Art, being an illustrated survey of English Decoration, Tapestry and Furniture during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, should be noticed, as also a volume on Grinling Gibbons and the Woodwork of his Age—1648-1720, by H. Avray Tipping (Newnes). Turning to the study of Art in Painting, many collectors will follow with keen interest Dr. A. P. Laurie's researches into The Pigments of the Old Masters (Macmillan), an attempt to ascertain the age of pictures by scientific microscopic investigation, which will earn the gratitude of all genuine art-lovers and collectors. The Studio publishes reproductions of The Landscapes of Corot, the Text being contributed by Mr. Croal Thomson, and we give a most hearty welcome to Art in Flanders, by Mr. Max Roose, the learned Director of the Plantin Moretus Museum at Antwerp (Heinemann).
Here too might be mentioned the Catalogue of Italian Book Illustrations and Early Printing prepared by Mr. A. W. Pollard from the Collection of Mr. C. W. Dyson Perrins, and printed by Mr. Quaritch.
The year has not been great in Poetic Drama. The writers to whom we are already indebted for previous good things continue to provide for us. In this way we have two plays from Mr. Rabindranath Tagore, Chitra (The India Society, the Chiswick Press and Macmillan) and The King of the Dark Chamber (Macmillan). Lady Gregory writes about Our Irish Theatre (Putnam), and perhaps the most arresting play of the year is Mr. Zangwill's The Melting Pot (Heinemann). We also welcome Five Plays from Lord Dunsany (Grant Richards) and Mr. John Drinkwater's Rebellion (Nutt). Mr. Galsworthy publishes Three Plays with Messrs. Duckworth, who are also responsible for the issue of a Second Series of Bjornstjerne Bjornson's Plays, translated, as before, by Mr. E. Bjorkman. Mr. Martin Seeker continues his edition of Hauptmann's Dramatic Works edited by Mr. Ludwig Lewisohn.
Poetry is with us always, and the year is not exceptional for any outstanding inspiration. Mr. Elkin Mathews is, as usual, to the fore in this department of Literature. He publishes Mr. Gibson's Thoroughfares and Borderlands, the Cubist Poems of Mr. Max Weber, Sailor Town, delightfully fresh Sea Songs and Ballads, by Miss Fox-Smith, Moorland Sanctuary and Other Poems, by a new singer—Mr. R. H. Law—and also the collection of Mr. Binyon's fine war-poems, styled The Winnowing Fan. The war has indeed animated the writers of patriotic verse, and Messrs. Chatto and Windus publish a collection of Poems of the Great War—sold for the benefit of the Prince of Wales' Fund—also Mr. Lane prints Songs and Sonnets for England in War Time. Needless to say, the best known modern poets are among the contributors to these volumes. The Poetry Bookshop offers Mr. Maurice Hewlett's Sing-Songs of the War, and also issues Mr. Harold Monro's Children of Love. Some New Poems by Robert Browning and Mrs. Browning are edited by Sir Frederick Kenyon (Smith Elder), and Mr. Thomas Hardy gives us Satires of Circumstance (Macmillan). From Mr. Masefield we have Philip the King and Other Poems (Heinemann), and we welcome more poems from Miss Rose Macaulay: The Two Blind Countries (Sidgwick and Jackson).