It is difficult not to do this extraordinary book a disservice by praising it with extravagant enthusiasm. In a world which is overgenerous with its superlatives, the use of such terms as great and good may well be questioned. They should not be questioned in this case. "Mistress Masham's Repose" is a masterpiece of narration, literary ingenuity, humor and satire and Mr. White, on the basis of this book, deserves to be mentioned in the company of Evelyn Waugh, C. S. Lewis and George Orwell as one of the few fortunate possessors of a splendid prose style.

The story itself concerns Maria, a ten-year-old orphan who lives at Malplaquet, an enormous ruin four times as large as Buckingham Palace, attended only by a fierce Governess, Miss Brown ("She was cruel in a complicated way"), a repulsive guardian, the Rev. Mr. Hater, and a kind old cook, Mrs. Noakes...