A' hundred years ago From•the 'Spectator, 29 August 1868—Dead Sea
Fruit, 3 Vols. By 'the Author of Lady Audley's 'Secret, &c. (Whrd, "Lock, and Tyler.)—No writer can hope to escape the penalties which await over- production. It seems to_ us that Miss Braddon's power, of expression and force of style suffer less than .does her skill in . constructing a plot. This skill she once posseccPd in a high degree; the story of Henry Dunbar, for instance, has always seemed to us admirably constructed. Possibly she may possess it still, if the exigencies of an excessive demand would permit- her to exercise it. But we see very little trace of it here. . . . But though the plot deserves no praise, one or -two particular scenes are given with great power. Indeed, whether her story interests us or no, Miss Braddon seldom wearies us. Her style has a certain brilliancy and sparkle. If we do not find that what she writes is pure gold, yet, at all events, the gilding is good.
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