Helen Mathers, in the Literary World, writes: 'Philip and Bryn—these two are so interesting and so true to life, the Japanese background against which they move in such noble but intensely human fashion is so exquisite, that the dullest of us must feel keen pleasure when we mingle intimately with the little people who have quite recently asserted their right to be reckoned with the greatest upon earth.'
G. A., in the Westminster Gazette, says: 'Mr. Douglas Sladen's first novel is a distinct success. To begin with, he has managed to capture a real live heroine, as charming and convincing a pretty girl as we have met with for years. Her flesh-and-blood reality is quite undeniable. She imposes herself upon one from the very first; she is winning and genuine, and as fresh as a daisy.'
Gilbert Burgess, in the Illustrated London News: 'This time it is the woes of the deceased wife's sister which are brought before us in a narrative that is invariably picturesque, and, especially as to the latter half of the volume, is of considerable humour and pathos.'
Norman Gale, in the Literary World: 'Bryn, a girl beautiful exceedingly, only a little past twenty years of age—"sweet and twenty" indeed!—loving Philip purely, and purely loved by him in return, living alone with a young widower. The moment when Bryn proves her love is a most exciting one, and shows that Mr. Sladen is a master of vivid recital.'
Jas. Stanley Little, in the Academy: 'He writes with knowledge and freshness of a country and a people as full of interest as Japan and the Japanese.'
Marion Hepworth Dixon, in the Englishwoman: 'A story strikingly told and animated with the doings of English residents in Japan.'
Richard le Gallienne, in the Star: 'An exceedingly sprightly and readable novel.'