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best historical novels and tales(乔纳森尼尔德历史小说故事精选).-第章

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authors suitable for juvenile or untrained tastes; and authors whose appeal 

is   specially   to   those   of   maturer   thought   and   experience。       Differing   as 

much   in   method       and   style   as   in   choice   of   period   and   character   type; 

Thackeray's 〃Vanity Fair〃 and George Eliot's 〃Romola〃 have at least this 

in monthey require a very high degree of intelligence for their due 

appreciation。       Who;      among     those   of   us  with   any    knowledge      of   such 

works;   would   dream   of   remending   them   to   a   youthful   reader   fresh 

from   the   perusal   of   Miss   Yonge's   〃Little   Duke;〃   or   Captain   Marryatt's 

〃Children of the New Forest〃? 

     Naturally in a list of this kind there is bound to be very great inequality; 

certain periods have been wholly ignored by writers of the first rank; while 

in others we have something like an embarras de richesse。                    Consequently; 

I have been pelled; here and there; to insert authors of only mediocre 

merit。     In other cases; again; I have not hesitated to omit works by writers 

of   acknowledged   position   when   these   have   seemed   below   the   author's 

usual standard; and where no gap had to be filled。                   I would instance the 



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                        A Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales 



James II。… William III。 period。           Here Stanley Weyman and 〃Edna Lyall〃 

might   have   been   represented;   but;   there   being   no   dearth   of   good   novels 

dealing with both the above reigns; I did not deem it advisable to call in 

these     popular    writers    at   the   point   which     has   been    very    generally 

considered   their   lowest。      I   mention   this   to   show   that   omissions   do   not 

necessarily mean ignorance; though; in covering such an immense ground; 

I   cannot   doubt   that   romances   worthy   of   a   place   in   my   list   have   been 

overlooked。 

     I think many  will be surprised to find how large a proportion of our 

best writers (English and American) have entered the domain of Historical 

or   Semi…Historical   Romance。          Scott;   Thackeray;   Dickens;   George   Eliot; 

Charlotte Bronte; George Meredith; R。 L。 Stevenson; Hawthorne; Peacock; 

Charles Kingsley; Henry Kingsley; Charles Reade; Anthony Trollope; Mrs。 

Gaskell; Walter Besant; Lytton; Disraeli; J。 H。 Newman; J。 A。 Froude; and 

Walter Paterthese are a few of the names which appear in the following 

pages;     while   Tolstoy;    Dumas;     Balzac;    George     Sand;   Victor    Hugo;    De 

Vigny;   Prosper   Merimee;   Flaubert; Theophile   Gautier;   Freytag;   Scheffel; 

Hauff;      Auerbach;      Manzoni;       Perez    Galdos;     Merejkowski;        Topelius; 

Sienkiewicz; and Jokai are; perhaps; the chief amongst those representing 

Literatures other than our own。 

     〃The   Last   Days   of   Pompeii;〃   〃The   Gladiators;〃   〃Hypatia;〃   〃Harold;〃 

〃Ivanhoe;〃   〃The   Talisman;〃   〃Maid   Marian;〃   〃The   Last   of   the   Barons;〃 

〃Quentin      Durward;〃      〃Romola;〃       〃The    Cloister   and    the  Hearth;〃     〃The 

Palace   of   the   King;〃   〃Westward   Ho!〃;        〃Kenilworth;〃   〃The   Chaplet        of 

Pearls;〃     〃A    Gentleman       of   France;〃     〃John     Inglesant;〃     〃The    Three 

Musketeers;〃 〃Twenty Years After;〃   〃Woodstock;〃 〃Peveril of   the  Peak;〃 

〃Old   Mortality;〃   〃   The   Betrothed   Lovers〃   (〃I   Promessi   Sposi〃);   〃Lorna 

Doone;〃 〃The Refugees;〃 〃In the Golden Days;〃 〃The Courtship of Morice 

Buckler;〃   〃Dorothy   Forster;〃   〃The   Men   of   the   Moss   Hags;〃   〃Esmond;〃 

〃The     Virginians;〃     〃Heart    of  Midlothian;〃     〃Waverley;〃      〃The    Master    of 

Ballantrae;〃 〃Kidnapped;〃   〃Catriona;〃   〃The   Chaplain of   the   Fleet;〃   〃The 

Seats of the Mighty;〃 〃Barnaby Rudge;〃 〃A Tale of Two Cities;〃 〃War and 

Peace〃what visions do these mere titles arouse within many of us!                     And; 

though most of the books given in my list cannot be described in the same 



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                        A Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales 



glowing terms as the masterpieces just named; yet many 〃nests of pleasant 

thoughts〃 may be formed through their panionship。 

     Hitherto allusion has been mainly in the direction of modern authors; 

and I would now say a word or two in regard to those of an earlier period 

who     are   also   represented。      Defoe;      Fielding;    Richardson;      Goldsmith; 

Smollett;   Frances   Burney;   Samuel   Lover;   John   Galt;   Maria   Edgeworth; 

Susan   Ferrier;   William   Godwin;   Mary   Shelley;   Fennimore   Cooper;   J。   G。 

Lockhart;      Leigh    Hunt;   Thos。    Moore;     Harriet   Martineau;     J。  L。  Motley; 

Horace Smith; Charles Lever; Meadows Taylor; and Wm。 Carleton;these 

(in greater or less degree) notable names were bound to have a place; and; 

ing to less distinguished writers; I may mention the brothers Banim; 

Gerald   Griffin;   Mrs。   S。   C。   Hall;   Lady   Morgan;   the   sisters   Porter;   W。   G。 

Simms;   George   Croly;   Albert   Smith;   G。   R。   Gleig;   W。   H。   Maxwell;   Sir 

Arthur     Helps;    Eliot   Warburton;      Lewis     Wingfield;     Thomas      Miller;   C。 

Macfarlane; Grace Aguilar; Anne Manning; and Emma Robinson (author 

of   〃Whitefriars〃)。      To   G。   P。   R。   James;   Harrison   Ainsworth;   and   James 

Grant I have previously alluded。            It has been my endeavour to choose the 

best examples of all the above…named novelistsa task rendered specially 

difficult in some cases by the fact of immense literary output。                  Doubtless 

not a   few  of the   works so chosen   are   open to  criticism;  but they  will   at 

least serve to illustrate certain stages in the growth
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