READABLE NOVELS.—A Little More. By W. B. Maxwell. (Hutchinson. 8s.
6d. net.)—Mr. Maxwell's motto for this story should have been that of the old farmer who declared, " I haven't got no land hunger. I only want what jines mine I " All the characters of the book are discontented in their several spheres and want more. When, however, the family chiefly concerned leave the suburbs and become first preposterously rich and then really indigent, the book ceases to be convincing, for the lights and shadows are too abruptly contrasted.—Lovers and Friends. By E. F. Benson. (Fisher Unwin. 7s. 6d. net.)—Mr. Benson's polished and amusing world, in which there is always a pre- ponderance of fine weather, appears to have gone on quite quietly through the War and after. There is nothing new in the present book, but it is a pleasing example of its author's method.—The Painted Lily. By Mrs. Maynard Crawford. (John Long. 8s. 6d. net.)—The pathetic struggle of the white child of a mixed marriage in Bermuda to elude the consequences of her parents' false step is the main theme of a book which has more than one interesting facet. The presence of the terrible scourge of leprosy in the girl's family is a deter- mining factor in the development of the story.—Eeereet. BY Ben Ames Williams. (Mills and Boon. 8s. 6d. net.)—A passionate romance of the North American hill country. The quality of tho imaginative power _involved la the conception pf the plot is well matched with the author's skill in handling words, and the result is eminently satisfactory.---Ghog Gleams. By W. J. Wintle. (Heath, Cranton. 7s. 611. net.) It would appear to be an absolute essential in the true ghost story that it should create some sense of mystery, evoke at least one thrill of dawning horror, in the mind of the reader. It must unfortunately be conceded that, judged from- this view-point, Mr. Wintle's stories have missed the mark. They are well written and circumstantial enough, but with the best will in the world it is impossible to catch even a gleam of a real ghost between the two covers of the book.
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