Madeleine Grown Up, by Mrs. Robert Henry (Dent, 15s.).
THIS autobiography-cum-novel is I a continuation of The Little Madeleine arid inferior to its predecessor. The Little Madeleine took us from the author's childhood until she was 18 or so, and its setting was. for the most part, Montmartre, with all its rich variety. Madeleine Grown Up covers barely two years of the author's life and takes place largely in the Saveg Hotel, where Madeleine was a manicurist.
There is not diverse enough material in the comings and goings of rich clients to Sustain the reader's interest, as, to make a full-length book, the minutest remarks are recorded.
The best chapters take place in a home for consumptives in the south of France. whither Madeleine went when suspected of this disease. Here we have the authentic note of poignant reality the I4-year-old boy who looks at Madeleine and says that if he could only live to be 20Madeleine's age-he would ask for
nothing more. Barbara Wall.