Annie E. Holdsworth

[1] "This book, by Annie E. Holdsworth, belongs with that increasing class of fiction written in the interest of social or individual reform.

Her own character develops strong and noble qualities; indeed, the work wrought in herself by self-sacrifice and high endeavor teaches a lesson quite as well worth heeding as that done for the girl, Christine.

Priscilla has real literary ability, though her husband ignores it, and permits her to scrub, pot-boil, and kill herself to provide the bare necessities of life.

Skyrle is the name of this remote nook, and the simple annals of its toiling inhabitants are here set forth in a series of short sketches, more or less connected by a slight thread of narrative.

Miss Holdsworth has caught with admirable success the peculiar atmosphere of Scottish life among the labouring classes, and the volume is rich in local colour.

It is, indeed, altogether a charming book, full of kindly humour, shrewd touches of characterisation, and gentle pathos, while the style is both simple and vivid.

There is nothing very novel or striking in "Spindles and Oars," because the manners and customs of the northern peasantry have already been exhaustively catalogued by more powerful pens than Miss Holdsworth's; but the inevitable lack of originality is atoned for by the pleasant sense of humour which animates this agreeable book, and lends to all its varied characters an air of truth and nature.

There are seventeen distinct sketches in "Spindles and Oars," of which all are meritorious, and some delightful; for Miss Holdsworth has the gift of that delicate intuition which can invest with dignity and interest the humblest affairs of life by its sympathetic touch.

These little sketches are too slight to bear a detailed critical analysis, for their charm – and it is a very real one – lies in atmosphere and setting rather than in striking incident or witty dialogue.