Three brothers of varying characters interact.
For Norris, see Novels 002, 054, 104, 156, 209, 260, and 300.
The author “does not hit upon any particularly new situations, and most of his men and women are what his readers will recognize as stock characters. . . . But there is no lack of freshness and fidelity in this story . . . whilst the author’s mildly cynical style will be as pleasant as ever to such as have acquired a taste for it.” Athenaeum, October 17, 1891
It is “distinctly clever and interesting, and Mr. Norris’s way of telling it is irresistibly amusing. . . . It is Mr. Norris’s ‘way.’ The cynicism that is at bottom so kind, . . . the pessimism which hopes for the best, make his point of survey of life most entertaining. There is an element of self-complacence in being made to laugh at fellow-creatures so good-naturedly. In this particular story however there is more than laughter,” e.g., pathos in delineation of some characters. Saturday Review, October 31, 1891
A contrasting view:
It is “far too cynical”; and its cynicism not supported by “the observed facts of life”; its women are implausibly calculating, and Norris “destroys the charm” of their “portraits without imparting to them the reality which is sometimes a compensation for ugliness.” Spectator, November 28, 1891
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