IN THIS VALLEY

Some day Michael Home is going to achieve the reputation he already deserves; meantime, this second novel (under this pseudonym) is a distinct advance beyond Return and should widen his market. It is another story against the same background, and some of the same characters play a minor part. But, essentially, it is the story of the Websters and of their climb up from the estate of tenant farmers to an established place in a community where they were respected and looked up to as landowners and progressive citizens. There is a sturdy quality in both these stories of rural England which lends a simple dignity and charm to the telling. The appeal is that of Sheila Kaye-Smith's Joanna Godden.