A young man is called to war in India; meanwhile the brother of the woman he loves strives to begin a literary career.
“An exceedingly pleasant story, partaking of the kind called rattling, but with some strong situations, and some characters by no means ill drawn.” Academy, November 29, 1879
“It happens but rarely that among the number of novels which call for . . . attention . . . we find one we regret to part with. . . . Mr. Follett-Synge’s novel is a rarity of this kind. . . . The book is full of character, and the kind of wisdom which we can only call knowledge of the world. . . . There is . . . a spirit as kindly as it is discerning . . . a true delineation of the ‘gentleman’ and ‘gentlewoman,’ a refined playful humour. . . . It is, . . a book which becomes a friend.” Spectator, December 13, 1879
“The author . . . is an ingenious novelist, whose calm audacity of conception does him credit. By assuming, as a matter of course, the probability of the incredible, he has laid the foundations of a decidedly clever novel, and may carry nine-tenths of his readers triumphantly along with him.” Saturday Review, December 13, 1879
A contrasting view:
“We have seldom come across so unequal a book. . . . At times, both in style and dramatic force, it is excellent, while at others flat and unprofitable.” Examiner, January 17, 1880
Download this week’s novel:
https://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/f/89vilt/oxfaleph014735424 (Right-click (or control-click, if you have a Mac) on the “view digitized copy” links to download the novel’s three volumes in pdf form)