NEW FICTION
CHIP: A Novel. By F. E. Mills Young, author of “A Mistaken Marriage.” Crown 8vo, 6s.
⁂ This is a story of the veld, of the lives of a small community of Europeans dwelling far from civilisation amid the silence and solitude of the swamps of East Africa. To the unhealthiness of the climate is added another danger—the disaffection of the natives upon the farm, caused by their fear and dislike of their employer, Mordaunt, the hero of the tale. Reckless, holding life cheaply, and with a scorn of fear, Mordaunt, a man of great strength of character, yet one who allows an early disappointment to embitter his life, courts danger as he has for years vainly courted death. Then across his path comes Chip, the heroine of the tale, who, disguised as a boy, seeks and obtains the post of overseer on the ranch. The story describes their daily life, the dangers which they face together, and the great influence which the mysterious boy-overseer exercises over the dissipated misogynist, his employer.
LITTLE DINNERS WITH THE SPHINX. By Richard LeGallienne. Crown 8vo, 6s.
DIANA DETHRONED: A Novel. By W. M. Letts. Crown 8vo, 6s.
⁂ Phœbe Lankester, unconsciously to herself, is pledged to the old pagan ideal represented by Diana the Huntress. Healthy in body and mind, Phœbe stands aloof from the troubles and desires of humanity, until in her own wrecked happiness she awakes slowly to the need of some power greater and kindlier than ever Diana knew. It is only after the absolute surrender of self and after the awakening of a greater, more maternal love than she has as yet known that she finds peace. Love and death and pity have conquered Diana, and the statue of the goddess that once adorned the Lankesters’ hall is banished to a lumber-room.
SOMEONE PAYS: A Novel. By Noel Barwell. Crown 8vo, 6s.
⁂ “Someone Pays,” though exemplifying a subtle train of cause and effect, is not a novel with a problem or a purpose. The story is told by means of the correspondence passing between a number of persons. We are first introduced to the post-bag at a country Vicarage where Sir Bernard Orr’s son is being coached. Later the scene changes to Cambridge, and we watch the developments of a romance and an awkward entanglement which arise at the Vicarage. Everything is smoothed out and ends happily for all parties, especially for an unscrupulous triumphant cleric.