There have been many workers among novelists in the field of royal portraiture, but it may be safely stated that few of those who have essayed this dubious path have achieved more striking results than M. Couperus. Majesty is an extraordinarily vivid romance of autocratic imperialism, and the main aim of the book is so legitimate, and its treatment so sympathetic and artistic, that it is to be regretted that the author should have adopted the portrait form at all. The striking but superficial resemblance between the leading characters of the story and those of more than one reigning imperial house, will, no doubt, prove a bait to readers hungry for personalities; but the real merits of the book--its dramatic intensity and powerful characterization--are entirely independent of this factitious interest.
