A Unicorn in the Bahamas

THE author is one of those Englishwomen who for no apparent reason go barging in where angels could not be hired to tread, and somehow get away with it. England seems always to have bred a few such in every generation, no one knows why. Miss Forbes has gallivanted around African wilds, through Iraq to Afghanistan, surviving experiences which General Allenby says ‘would have appalled the hardiest old-time pioneer.’ Her latest exploit was the simpler one of covering the Bahamas, and this interesting book is its by-product. The lady has a mind of her own. It is worth the price of admission to sit in on the vigorous and excellent lambasting which she bestows on various political crooks and mountebanks, and also on established institutions like British arrogance, peace treaties, and the League of Nations. Some of her history is a little shaky in spots, but not to hurt. Her narrative is amusing, gossipy, well-written, always in good taste, and replete with odds and ends of interesting information.