ONE is not reassured, upon approaching a long novel entitled "Inheritance," to find its jacket emblazoned with succeeding generations, to discover that the story begins in 1812 and ends in 1931, and to locate at the back one of those genealogical charts which have so often, of recent date, proclaimed an imitation of the form but scarcely the estimable ability of Mr. Galsworthy. Miss Bentley's story relates, to be brief, the textile history of Yorkshire during the nineteenth century. Of central interest, naturally, is the development of the conflict between capital and labor. And this is handled, as one might expect, through the use of conflicting families.

The Oldroyds, from old William who was murdered by Luddites in 1812, to young David who resolves to recoup the family fortunes in 1931, represent the close-fisted, passionate hard-riding Tory lot who owned mills. The Bamforths, illegitimately conceived by young Will Oldroyd in 1812, are, as one might suspect from their origin, those who suffer the worker's lot and eventually become Crusaders in that cause. The decline of the Oldroyds begins when the desire for family distinction obscures the interest in good cloth; the success of the Bamforth line lies in its espousal of the humane cause.

Miss Bentley has obviously undertaken a discouraging task. For if her book is to remain, properly speaking, a novel, her characters must secure, per se, the interest and affection of the reader. They must not, as in so many works of this type, become submerged either in her sympathy for the oppressed, or by the difficulty of finding something interesting, something new for each succeeding generation.

And to her infinite credit, the authoress has succeeded in endowing her pages with intense, at times terrible, vitality. To be sure, there are none of the tricks which make for artful smooth writing. Rather, her approach is direct, blunt, similar one often remarks, to that of an oral narrator. But her character analysis and descriptive power are nonetheless shrewd, firm, displaying a startling insight.

If the last few pages are hurried, if Miss Bentley permits David to utter lengthy banalities on his family history, one must overlook these, and forgive her. The remainder of the task is well done. The general effect of the book is to send one scurrying to his own genealogy. Perhaps that is all that one should require of any Saga.