=THE CURSE OF THE FEVERALS= By L. T. MEADE. With coloured Frontispiece by E. J. SHERIE
Mrs. L. T. Meade has chosen the subject of heredity as the theme of her new novel; but, as might be imagined, there is nothing unpleasant or technical in her treatment of "The Curse of the Feverals." On the contrary, Mrs. Meade invariably looks at the brighter side of life—upon its joys rather than its sorrows—and she has brought her best talents to bear in the construction of this effective and moving story of domestic life.
=THE HOUSE ON THE THAMES= By G. W. APPLETON
A boating accident on the Thames, the rescue of Jeannie, a beautiful girl, and her sudden disappearance almost immediately afterwards, are the events which occur in the first chapter of Mr. G. W. Appleton's new novel. Thenceforward the reader's perplexity is mingled with an intense desire to probe the mystery. Mr. Appleton keeps well within the region of probability, and his sunny outlook upon life peeps forth in this exciting, dramatic, and withal humorous story.
Deals with the passionate love of two girls for one man, and shows how the one whose love he did not return yet loved him so thoroughly, so nobly, so unselfishly, that in the end she was the means of his salvation. The story largely deals with an old family curse, and a strange mystery which is partially founded on fact. The characters of some of the most important persons are taken from life. In a word, this is the most exciting story that Mrs. Meade has ever produced, and the publisher predicts a more than ordinary success for it.
Mr. David Christie Murray has imagined in his new story a combination of circumstances which afford ample scope for the exercise of his uncommon powers. A merchant of character is left, by a dying friend, in the position of trustee without documentary conditions, and the property, which he thinks to be worthless, proves to be of untold value. His own financial embarrassments create the temptation to which he momentarily succumbs. The story gallops along at a furious pace amid an atmosphere of stirring events, through which runs a delightful love episode.
In the opinion of the critics, Mr. R. H. Forster knows Northumbria as Mr. Hardy knows Wessex, as Mr. Crockett knows Galloway, and as Mr. Blackmore knew Exmoor. Higher praise for a writer of historical fiction it would be difficult to imagine. In "A Jacobite Admiral" the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 forms the superstructure of the story, and the hero's adventures in his loyalty to the doomed house of Stuart, as conspirator, rebel, fugitive, and lover, afford ample scope for the description of scenes and localities of great natural beauty and historic interest. Over and above this, Mr. R. H. Forster has written a novel which is instinct with the finest romantic spirit.