Under the Arch of Life. By Lady Henry Somerset. (Hurst
and Blackett. 6s.)—The beginning of this novel is not very felicitous. A note of interest in two characters is touched in a striking way in the first chapter, and then these personages are altogether abandoned, and do not come into the story again till nearly half way through the book. It is quite true that Katherine Cliffe is not the heroine, and that Elizabeth Maynell, with whose doings we are concerned after the first chapter, really occupies that position. All the same, the reader of a novel resents being expected, after the first chapter, to "switch off" his interest to a completely fresh set of people. The novel is one of modern society manners ; it is carefully and cleverly written, and the character-drawing is also well done. Eric Errington, the central male figure (he cannot, however, be called the hero), is an excellent study of a selfish, graceful dilettante. and the heroine, Elizabeth, has a certain freshness of character which recommends her to our notice. The second heroine, Katherine Cliffe, rather too closely resembles the conventional figure of the society fine lady, but she, too, must be acknow- ledged to be true to life. The story, though dealing with serious interests, is a comedy of manners, and has the great merit that the characters all act and speak as they would do in real life. The plot is not remarkable, but in this kind of book the picture of the social life of the day is the point of interest, not the intricacies of plot-weaving. The book is representative, as depicting two sides of modern social life, for while one heroine goes to "smart" country houses and balls, the other is chiefly occupied with work in the East End. Lady Henry Somerset's familiarity with both these phases enables her to give a vivid
picture of the two alternative backgrounds of her novel. We shall look forward to another novel from her pen, and expect with confidence that familiarity with the technique of fiction will greatly improve her work.
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