"Caged Birds." By S. P. B. Mais.
(Grant Richards. 7s. 6d.)
It would be amusing to see the face of an exhumed and resuscitated Puritan when this book was read aloud to his astounded ear. It is a sign of strangely altered times when a husband can discuss his impending elopement with (1) his titular wife; (2) her officially recognized tame cat"; (3) the girl he proposes to elope with; (4) the parents of the girl; and (5). various friends of both side Everyone—or nearly everyone—is really very nice about it, in the style of the characters in " Getting Married.". There is a great deal to be said for the frank, straightforward method—and certainly a very great deal for the sincerity, warmth, and individuality of Mr. Mais's man and girl. His novels have a headlong realism tempered by a love of literature that makes them indescribably personal to Mr. Mais.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.