"LADIES OF LLANGOLLEN."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 193, 15 August 1936, Page 2

"LADIES OF LLANGOLLEN."

TWO FAMOUS IRISHWOMEN. The story of two famous women is told by Dr. Mary Gordon in "Chase of the Wild Goose" (Hogarth Press), both of them have been in their graves for more than a hundred years, and the adventure on f which they embarked would not attract much notice to-day, but over a century and a half ago it

was so unusual as to cause a sensation, and it led to the circulation of all sorts of stories, especially after their deaths, from which their characters suffered detraction. Botli were Irish, and members of aristocratic families. They were also beautiful and high-spirited. More than one offer of marriage came to them, but refusing every inducement to "settle down," as most young ladies would have done, when the chance came to them, to a conventional married life, they left their homes, and took up house together in the beautifully situated little town of Llangollen, in North Wales, where for some 50 years, they were inseparable. They were singularly happy in'their fellowship and in the many visits that were paid them from time to time by people ot note, including the great Duke of Wellington, and were greatly respected by the townsfolk.

Dr. Gordon is an ardent admirer of "tlie Ladies of Llangollen," and sets herself tlio task of vindicating tliem against their detractors by giving what she assures us, is their true story. She has had very meagre records of their early years to guide her, and this has obliged her to invent a good deal. Her method, therefore, as the publishers point out, is not straight biography, yet neither is it fiction. It is a combination of fact and imaginative reconstruction, and is so well done that there is not a dull page in it. It is, indeed, one of the most charming and fascinating stories of the kind published in recent years, and is marked by literary distinction.