6 NOVEMBER 1909, Page 12

The Failure of a Hero. By M. Bram.ston. (S.P.C.K. 2s.)—No

reader can complain of the company which he meets in this book. He is introduced to Shakespeare, Essex, Balogh, John Donne, Sir Henry Wotton, Francis Bacon, and Richard Hooker. This is a bold venture in an author. Miss Bramston carries it off very well. Her actors bear themselves with dignity on the stage which she furnishes for us, and we get a lively picture of the time and the great mon who lived in it. The boldest venture of all, the bringing in of William Shakespeare, is perhaps the greatest success. It helps us to realise the man, not an easy thing, and by its difficulty giving the Baconians the one hold they have on common-sense.