_By_ COMPTON MACKENZIE
_PUNCH:_
"I shall not easily forget the delightful revelation of a new power
that was given me by Mr. Compton Mackenzie's 'Carnival.' 'Sinister
Street' confirms and heightens my estimate of its author.... As a
study of the education of character it is already a masterpiece....
It is not my habit lightly to prophesy fame; but after these two
books I am prepared to wager that Mr. Mackenzie's future is bound
up with what is most considerable in English fiction."
_EVENING STANDARD:_
"Not without complacency we remember that, in noticing 'Carnival,'
we suggested that Mr. Mackenzie's next novel would mark a critical
stage in his career. We are complacent because the author has
largely fulfilled the promise of that arresting novel. He has
passed the critical stage, and whatever happens now nothing can
deprive him of the honour of being the author of 'Sinister
Street.'"
_MORNING POST:_
"'Sinister Street' has indeed interested us profoundly, as the
intimate study of the infancy and boyhood of a singularly
attractive lad.... Its picture of West Kensington life, and its
attempt to describe the atmosphere of the Public School which
dominates the social life of West Kensington are really
remarkable."
_TIMES:_
"We do not wish it any shorter, for it is almost wholly delightful
in itself."
_STANDARD:_
"In his pages there is not one which even a reviewer could wish to
skip.... The architecture of the book is superb."
_DAILY EXPRESS:_
"'Sinister Street' is a fine novel, an achievement far removed from
the average easy banality."
_MANCHESTER GUARDIAN:_
"As difficult a task as fiction could undertake; but Mr.
Mackenzie's tact and insight and comprehension have brought him
through with brilliant success.... Something we would not willingly
have missed."