Dame Rose Macaulay possessed two qualities, a comic spirit and an intellectual pessimism, which made her one of England's finest modern satirists. Her satire has limitations. First, because of rapid and rather prolific productivity, some of the satire is repetitious. Second, the reader who enjoys satire is already aware of many of the flaws and incongruities of society. He has probably ridiculed them himself, so he may not find the satire as fresh and original as the author hoped it would be. Much of Miss Macaulay's satire is delightful and keen but occasionally she stoops to the trivial. In spite of these shortcomings and the fact that sometimes the humor seems so broad as to be almost forced, the presence of the comic spirit and the intellectual pessimism--her insight into both the comedy and the tragedy of life--gives much of her satire great appeal and universality.