Page:The Spoils of Poynton (London, William Heinemann, 1897).djvu/325



The Saturday Review.—'The powerfully dramatic scene in the dancing-rooms at Cairo would alone make the book worth reading. The humour, too, peculiar to himself is not lacking in Mr. Hichens's novel. It is undoubtedly an artistic success.'

The Guardian.—'There is no possible doubt as to the cleverness of the book. The scenes are exceeding powerful.'

The Graphic.—'The story embodies a study of remarkable subtlety and power, and the style is not only vivid and picturesque, but in those passages of mixed emotion and reflection, which strike what is, perhaps, the characteristic note of late nineteenth century prose literature, is touched with something of a poetic charm.'

The Standard.—'The setting of the book is vivid, and the effect of silence well imagined, so that the strange little drama goes on, and the reader watches it with an interest that does not suffer him to consider its absurdity.'

The Daily Chronicle.—'It treats an original idea with no little skill, and it is written with a distinction which gives Mr. Hichens a conspicuous place amongst the younger story-tellers who are really studious of English diction. . . . It is marked out with an imaginative resource which has a welcome note of literature.'

The Daily Graphic.—'A profoundly impressive study in psychology. The descriptions of the shadier side of Egyptian life are fresh and vivid; indeed, Mr. Hichens has a rare power of stimulating the reader's imagination until it fills in what no one can write, and thus helps to create a vivid picture.'

The Scotsman.—'It is no doubt a remarkable book. If it has almost none of the humour of its predecessor (The Green Carnation), it is written with the same brilliancy of style, and the same skill is shown in the drawing of accessories. Mr. Hichens's three characters never fail to be interesting. They are presented with very considerable power, while the background of Egyptian life and scenery is drawn with a sure hand.'


 * WILLIAM HEINEMANN,, W.C.