LIFE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5464, 16 January 1896, Page 2

LIFE.

, This is the appropriate heading tinder \ which tne woman's paper, *Dayirea% in-; troduces. a notice of a ( work of fiction by; Mr H. G. WeiSs, entitled "A .Mysterious; Visit." The 'book is worthy of notice for several reasons; In the' first place it is the.workof a cplbnial, and is v orie '• of the comparatively few' local productions that have gained a European reputation. : In form it is the story of a mysterious visit! paid -to the ; earth by the inhabitant of, some better and brighter world. In substance, it is a comment on life— r, on all ; the. manners and institutions, frailties, vices, follies and virtues which go to •make up. the life lived by the men and ■ women who inhabit the earth. That Mr Wells should have adopted allegory as a' medium for transmitting his views on 'social questions says; a good deal for his moral courage. Prom the author of " Pilgrim's Progress " downwards, the number of writers who have attempted the role of moralist under the guise of fictionist has been practically unlimited. Since Swift wrote his " Gulliver's Travels,", nothing has appeared under this form which has made more than a passing success, or that has left any impress on the age. In our own day the novel with a purpose has became very much discredited. The realist and the romanticist are still tolerated, but on all sides there are evidences of revolt against the encroachments of the social philosopher under the! insidious guise of a writer of novels. Hence the boldness of Mr Wells's attempt. He has written a most unmistakable allegory, and has preached in the most barefaced manner. His moralisings have met with a good deal of success judging by the criticisms of the reviewers, and the fact that his book, at 5s a copy, is already in its second edition. As far as we can see "The Mysterious Visit" contains ; nothing very new or striking. The vicar who undertakes the duty of showing the celestial 'visitor round has a good deal to say about the growth of men and women "from little pink babies " until the time when "their teeth fali and their limbs fail," and they show the other signs of decay which Juvenal described along time before Mr Wells undertook the task. For the rest, the book is a satire on cus* toms which apparently rest on no logical basis, and which naturally excite astonishment in so unaccustomed a beholder as the mysterious visitant. As a romance it is likely enough to interest those for whom " Gulliver's Travels " and " Peter Wilkins " retain the power to charm. But the avei--age adult, one would imagine, would prefer bis philosophy in a less diluted state.