It is said that anyone who has the power of setting down his impressions on paper can write at least one good novel, if he tries, for he will draw with varying degrees of truth or malice the individuals he has met, liked, or suffered from, and the main circumstances of his life. What a Homeric novel M. Clemenceau might have written if he had followed these lines! But _Les Plus Forts_ is unfortunately no such overflow of personal impressions and memories; it is merely what used to be called "a novel with a purpose." That is to say, it is one of the many works of fiction which not only record the adventures of certain imaginary yet typical characters, but also contain severe criticism of contemporary social conditions and life. Such novels were much more common in England during the nineteenth century than in France. In English fiction the sequence is unbroken from _Sandford and Merton_ to the earlier works of Mrs. Humphry Ward's venerable pen. But in 1898 there were still not many French novels concerned with the serious discussion of social conditions, and M. Clemenceau's early work stands out among these for sincerity and simplicity of intent. However, in spite of the excellent irony of some passages--notably the description of the Vicomtesse de Fourchamps' career--_Les Plus Forts_ is to modern readers a trifle tedious and a little naive. It is of the same calibre as Mr. Shaw's two first novels, but less eccentric and not so amusing. M. Clemenceau himself would probably write upon it "_Péché de jeunesse_," and pass on. Yet it deserves more attention than that; for _Les Plus Forts_ unconsciously reveals the central weakness of its author's criticism of modern life. The situation is a good one, although the actors are not so much characters as types.