“He takes little or no thought about style, but simply jots down the facts in a succession of short sentences. The modern passion for scrutinizing all the sources and presenting their results in the most plain and summary fashion has seized and carried away this accomplished man of letters. The chief blemish of the book is the spirit in which it is written. We might have expected Mr. Lang, in dealing with men and events that lie two centuries and a half behind him, to show that calmness and detachment which befit the philosophic historian. The best parts of his book, and certainly the most readable, are those which describe the campaigns of that brilliant leader [Montrose].”
| + + — | Nation. 80: 13. Ja. 5, ‘05. 2240w. | |
| R. of Rs. 30: 756. D. ‘04. 70w. |
“It is less frequently relieved by what Stevenson termed its author’s ‘incommunicable humour.’ There is, further, in this volume a good deal more than we have noticed before of Mr. Lang’s ‘perversity.’”
| — + + | Spec. 94: 716. My. 13, ‘05. 2850w. |
Lang, Andrew. [John Knox and the reformation.] [*]$3.50. Longmans.
In his account of the life of John Knox, Mr. Lang has endeavored to get behind enveloping traditions and reveal the real man. He criticises Knox’s history carefully and disagrees with it. He gives much Scottish history and an interesting account of Knox’s struggle with Mary Stuart and his onslaught upon Mary of Guise in which is much gentle irony.
“Even in exposing the enormities of John Knox he keeps his literary temper, and instead of breaking the reformer’s head with a bludgeon, gently pricks him with the pin-point of his scorn.”
| + | Acad. 68: 585. Je. 3, ‘05. 1580w. | |
| Am. Hist. R. 10: 942. Jl. ‘05. 60w. |
“The book is exceedingly lively in tone and style, but is, we think, rather spoilt throughout by the apparent desire to make points.”
| + + — | Ath. 1905, 2: 230. Ag. 19. 2020w. |