It is always a question what Anthony Hope will do next. From a dashing
romance of an imaginary kingdom to drawing-room repartee is a leap which
this versatile writer performs with the greatest ease. In his “Tristram
of Blent” he has made a new departure, demonstrating his ability to
depict character by some exceedingly delicate and skillful delineation.
The plot is unique, and is based upon the difference of time of the
Russian and English calendars, by which a marriage, a birth, and the
ownership of lands and name are in turn affected, producing
complications which hurry the reader on in search of the satisfactory
solution which awaits him. The Tristrams are characters of strong
individualities, of eccentricities likewise. These, coloring all their
acts, leave the reader in doubt as to the issue; yet it is a logical
story through and through, events following events in carefully planned
sequence. A work of undoubted originality based on modern conditions,
“Tristram of Blent” proves that the author does not need an ideal
kingdom to write a thrilling romance. (12mo, $1.50.)