Fondie. A Novel. By E. C. Booth, author of “The Cliff End,” “The Doctor’s Lass.” Crown 8vo, 6s.
This story of Fondie Bassiemoor, his life, and also that of the inhabitants of Wivvle, a Yorkshire village, is a big novel in every way. Mr. Booth’s unhurried method requires a large canvas, and although the story is long for a modern novel the feeling of the reader at the finish is that on no account would he have it shorter.
Mr. Booth pictures the everyday life of a rural village in Yorkshire with all its types and characters clearly and lovingly drawn; the comedy and tragedy of life painted with the sure hand of an artist and master craftsman. The natural tone and accent of speech is reproduced, but there is nothing irritating in its transcription as the author renders the Yorkshire dialect in such manner and so naturally that no unusual effort is required to read it.
The note of comedy is preserved through the greater part of the book, but the sadness of life is not ignored. To each their place.
The author’s previous books have been unreservedly praised, but it is thought by competent judges that “Fondie” is a particular advance on any of his earlier work. For a comparison one must go to the early work of Thomas Hardy. Perhaps “Far from the Madding Crowd” is the closest. Mr. Booth’s “Fondie” will stand the comparison very well.
MARY AGNES HAMILTON
Dead Yesterday. By Mary Agnes Hamilton, author of “Less than the Dust,” “Yes.” Crown 8vo, 6s.
This novel has been described by critics who have read it in manuscript as both clever and brilliant. It is notably modern in its feeling and outlook, its detail and allusions revealing its author’s interest in the artistic and social ideas which were current in 1914. The action of the story begins before the war, but is carried past August 1914, and finishes towards the end of 1915. It gives a very effective picture of an educated and bohemian coterie whose sophisticated attitude towards life is sharply challenged by the realization of the need to fight for national existence.