The story of a man and a woman who, owing to the well-meant misrepresentations of the man’s sister, married under the impression that each was in love with the other. The man was an invalid, and the girl married him out of pity; he married her to give her a home. A dramatic incident leads to the man’s recovery, and they are becoming really attached to one another when they accidentally find out how they have been deceived. There are various carefully drawn minor characters, and the story holds the interest from first to last. It is one of the best the author has written, and will increase her world-wide popularity.
The Fall of Raymond
By F. FRANKFORT MOORE
Author of “The Rise of Raymond,” etc.
Mr. F. Frankfort Moore’s new novel concerns the progress—up to a certain point—of Raymond Monk, who, after passing with distinction through the English schools of music, goes to Italy to study for grand opera under a famous but eccentric maestro. He has been engaged to a charming English girl and remains faithful to her, in spite of the many temptations which surround a young and promising tenor, until a moment comes when his ambition to achieve a great career causes him to be blind to every other consideration. Happily, he recovers his sight and balance before it is too late. The means by which this is accomplished constitutes the greater part of the story; and it is made plain that when Raymond falls it is not “like Lucifer, never to rise again.” The sketches of the personnel of the opera company with which the hero is associated will be found equal to the best of the author’s work.
The Peepshow
By HELEN PROTHERO LEWIS
(Mrs. JAMES J. G. PUGH)
Author of “Love and the Whirlwind,” etc.
This highly humorous book purports to be a memoir, and is written in autobiographical style by a young girl—Griselda Lovejoy, who is remarkably ingenuous, and has been adopted by an Earl. Her blunders create extraordinary situations. All the characters, we are told, are living people with fictitious names. Hilaria, the Earl’s American wife, is delightful. She sympathizes with Griselda’s secret love for the Earl’s son, Lord Dwindle, and the way in which she manages her tempestuous husband and steers Griselda through her entanglements with the exclusive Sir John Sumpter-Mule and the democratic Mr. Washington Yanke, is most diverting. More than once tragedy draws near, but finally Griselda is steered into safety. The pictures of life, as led by our aristocrats, shown us in this “Peepshow,” may not flatter Society, but will certainly entertain it.