of “origins,” and holds simply that Tragedy burst from the brain of Æschylus like Athena from the head of Zeus, attaining at once its fullest imaginable stature. The justification of “the ways of God to Man,” “the Problem of Evil,” “the Riddle of the Universe”—in such phrases as these Professor Dixon’s conception of the scope of the Tragic theme are faintly adumbrated, and one is left wondering whether, without Æschylus’ lead, even Sophocles would have compassed it fully; of Euripides there is no question. Only once—with Shakespeare—was Tragedy reborn.
The history of Tragedy is thus not a literary one; it is to be sought rather in a way in which the world-philosophers, from Aristotle to Hegel and Nietsche, have reacted to it. In the tracing of these reactions lies perhaps the principal interest of a stimulating book.NEW FICTION.
MUCH DELUSION.
By GERTRUDE SPINNY,
Author of “The Painted Castle.”
Crown 8 vo. 7 s. 6 d. net.
Miss Spinny’s first novel, “The Painted Castle,” won golden opinions from discerning critics who were quick to recognize qualities revealing unusual promise. In her new novel, the author has chosen a less difficult subject and one that will appeal more directly to the experience of the reader. The story is lightly and amusingly told while developing a situation that becomes increasingly exciting. It begins quietly with the appearance of a stranger, Andrew Redman, who takes a furnished cottage in Sussex to recover from a nervous breakdown. He becomes acquainted with his neighbours, in particular with the Vicar, who is morbidly interested in Spiritualism, and with Miss Charlotte Masters, who lives there with her grandparents. Charlotte is regarded by the Vicar as a promising medium, and by Redman with eyes of love. Gradually the reader perceives that Redman is living under an assumed name, and learns that his breakdown was caused by circumstances not unconnected with the Vicar’s mental disturbance. Redman’s identity, when revealed, adds to the difficulty of his winning Charlotte. But a more terrible obstacle arises through the menacing attitude of the Vicar, whose delusions rapidly develop into mania and bring about a catastrophe in which Charlotte barely escapes a horrible death. The story is carefully constructed and interesting from start to finish.
