Page:Moods (Alcott).djvu/312



Douglas Jerrold gave this distinguished English authoress this "nom de plume," and her style has the point, brightness, and delicacy which it suggests.—This is not a cook book as the title might mislead some to suppose, but a fresh, vigorous, powerful story of English country life, full of exquisite pictures of rural scenery, with a plot which is managed with great skill, and a surprise kept constantly ahead so that from the opening to the close the interest never flags. There is life in every page and a fresh, delicate, hearty sentiment pervades the book that exhilarates and charms indescribably.

The heroine—Charlotte the housekeeper—is one of the finest characters ever drawn, and merits unqualified commendation.

As a whole, for beauty of style and diction, passionate earnestness, effective contrasts, distinctness of plot, unity, and completeness, this novel is without a rival. It is a "midnight darling" that Charles Lamb would have exulted in, and perhaps the best as yet produced from a woman's pen.