Books of Interest to Friends

BOOKS OF INTEREST TO FRIENDS.103 BOOKS OF INTEREST TO FRIENDS. Elisabeth Fry the Angel of the Prisons. By Laura E. Richards, author of "Florence Nightingale," etc. Illustrated. D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1916. 7]/2 ? 5 in., pp. viii, 205. $1.25. This is an interesting account of Elizabeth Fry by a sympathetic outsider . It has few claims to originality, being a compilation from A. J. C. Hare's " The Gurneys of Earlham," the " Life of Elizabeth Fry " by her daughters, and other well-known books. It is written in the lively style of the author, and is a pleasant addition to the Elizabeth Fry literature, though it adds no new facts. It will be read by many who would not be likely to read the larger volumes, and so will doubtless be productive of good. It is to be much regretted that the illustrations are not only poorly executed, but in two instances are incorrect. That facing page 186 is not a portrait of Elizabeth Gurney, afterwards Elizabeth Fry, but of Elizabeth (Shepherd) Gurney, wife of Samuel Gurney, of Ham House (see " Gurneys of Earlham," Vol. 1, 186; Vol. 2, 296; also "List of Illustrations" in each volume). The silhouette on the cover is not Elizabeth Gurney, but Hannah Gurney (see "Gurneys of Earlham," Vol. 1, 106, 164). A personal note from the author states that the publishers are responsible for the illustrations, and that corrections will be made should another edition of the book be called for. A Dreamer of Dreams, Being a New and Intimate Telling of the Love Story and Life Work of Will Penn the Quaker. By Oliver Huckel, etc. New York, T. Y. Crowell Company, Publishers [1916]. 7x5 in., pp. xxvii, 249. $1.25, net. This book by a well-known Congregational minister, late of Baltimore, Maryland, is intended to be in the same class as the old favorites, " Diary of Lady Willoughby," and " Maiden and Married Life of Mary Powell." Like the works of Hannah Mary Rathbone and Anne Manning, fact and fiction are so much mixed up and interwoven, that only those who are familiar with . the facts are able to distinguish between them. In the " Dreamer of Dreams " the style is pleasant, and the incidents well chosen. The author is in sympathy with William Penn, and has evidently read much of the literature bearing upon his theme. He has also sought for legends and stories of the early days in Pennsylvania which would lighten up his supposed " Diary." It is, however, almost impossible to regard such a work seriously, for it is neither history, nor biography, nor fiction , but a little of fact and a good deal of fiction, with a transparently artificial atmosphere of antiquity. 104 BULLETIN OF FRIENDS' HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Concerning Prayer, Its Nature, Its Difficulties and Its Value. By the author of " Pro Christo et Ecclesia," and others. Macmillan & Co., London , 1916. 8yi ? Z1A in., pp. xiii, 504. $3.00. The fact that one of the essays in this composite volume is by Rufus M. Jones, the well-known Friend, gives it a place in these columns. It is a striking comment on the current thought of to-day that this good-sized volume at a comparatively high cost should not only be published, but that a second issue should be called for within a month of publication. Another interesting feature is thus described in the " Introduction " : " In this volume a lady, three laymen, two parish clergymen, two clerical dons— all Anglicans—a Wesleyan theological tutor, a Congregational minister, and an American professor belonging to the Society of Friends, put forward some thoughts which are the result of a sustained corporate effort to clear up their own ideas on this important matter." The volume is wholly non-controversial. Naturally the essay by Rufus Jones, " Prayer and the Mystic Vision," will appeal most to Friends, but there is very much that will be not only interesting, but helpful to the serious reader. These are the words of an Anglican Canon : " Moreover, whether a church be accustomed to a fixed Liturgy or to extemporary prayer led by the minister , it is impossible that the special needs of every individual can be...