+Cath. World. 86: 117. O. ’07. 470w.

“Notwithstanding a tendency to repetition and undue elaboration—a conspicuous lack of epigrammatic terseness,—this book is the ripest, thoughtfullest, best piece of work its author has yet produced.”

+ + −Dial. 42: 344. Je. 1, ’07. 350w.

“Gives us a scholar’s philosophy of life.”

+Ind. 63: 1117. N. 7, ’07. 700w.
+Lit. D. 35: 61. Jl. 13, ’07. 160w.

“Mr. Benson’s polished prose and his mastery of style and language serve only to throw into bolder relief the thinness of the substance.”

+ −Lond. Times. 6: 84. Mr. 15, ’07. 1060w.

“Remind one of ‘The private papers of Henry Ryecroft,’ graceful and wise and sober, a delightful refreshment in the bustle of modern literature, but lacking in the last incalculable touch of style and insight that make Gissing’s book so memorable.”

+ −Nation. 84: 411. My. 2, ’07. 330w.

Reviewed by A. I. du P. Coleman.