Richard IV., Plantagenet. By J. Frederick Hodgetts. (Whiting and Co.)—This
is a rather audacious attempt on the part of Pro- fessor Hodgetts to defy history, or, at all events, what are generally regarded as its recognised facts. Not only does he to some extent rehabilitate Richard III., but he gives him a legitimate son by a secret marriage to Lady Alice Trevor. This son, who ought, of course, to have been Richard IV., finds out his father, sees him perish on Bosworth Field, and after a number of astonishing adventures and hairbreath escapes, largely due to his having a persistent enemy in a Fleming of the name of Dousterfeldt, settles down as a printer, and actually prints the first English Bible. Improbability (or impossibility) apart, Professor Hodgetts has constructed an ingenious and readable story with a decided purpose. We are glad to observe that here his style flows more smoothly than it does in some of his books.
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