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best historical novels and tales(乔纳森尼尔德历史小说故事精选).-第3章

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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 of Historical Romance。 

With     the  exclusion     of  Mrs。    Radcliffe;    Mrs。    Marsh;    Mrs。    Gore;   Lady 

Blessington;      Lady     Fullerton;    Mrs。   Bray;    and   Mrs。   Child;    few   will;   I 

imagine; find fault; but writers like Miss Tucker (A。 L。 O。 E。) and Miss 

Emily   Holt   still   find   so   many   readers   in   juvenile   quarters;   that   it   has 

required   a   certain   amount   of   courage   to   place   them   also   on   my   Index 

Expurgatorius!        Turning once again to writers of the sterner sex; I have 

ruled out C。 R。 Maturin; G。 W。 M。 Reynolds; and Pierce Egan; Junr。; and 

(quitting the 〃sensational〃 for the 〃mildly entertaining〃) out of the Rev。 J。 

M。    Neale's    many    historical    tales  I  have   selected    only   one〃Theodora 

Phranza;〃 which; besides being well written; has the merit of dealing with 

a    somewhat      neglected     period。     Stories     possessing     a  background       of 

History are to be found in 〃Tales from Blackwood;〃 as also in 〃Wilson's 

Tales of the Borders;〃 but their extremely slight character seemed scarcely 



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to   justify  insertion;   while   not   even   the  high   literary  position   attained   by 

him   on   other   grounds   reconciled       me   to   either   of   Allan  Cunningham's 

novels〃Sir Michael Scott〃 and 〃Paul Jones。〃 

     Of    the  Foreign     novelists    appearing     in  my   list;  several   have    been 

already named;  but   Marchese   D'Azeglio;  F。  D。  Guerrazzi;  Cesare   Cantu; 

〃W。 Alexis〃   (G。   Haring);   H。   Laube;   Louise   Mulbach   (Klara   M。   Mundt); 

Nicolas Josika; Viktor Rydberg; Hendrik Conscience; Xavier B。 Saintine; 

Amedee   Achard;   and   〃Erckmann…Chatrian〃   here   call   for   notice   as   not 

ing under strictly Contemporary classification。                  I would forestall the 

criticism   that   two   writers   have   been   passed   over   whose   fame   is   greater 

than    any   of  those    just  mentioned;     viz。:  〃Stendhal〃      (Henri   Beyle)    and 

Alphonse Daudet。          Beyle's 〃La Chartreuse de Parme;〃 though containing 

the    oft…praised    account     of  Waterloo;     is  far   more    Psychological      than 

Historical; and Daudet's 〃Robert Helmont;〃 while it depicts (under Diary 

form)   certain   aspects   of   the    Franco…German   War;   has   hardly   any   plot 

running   through   it。     As   the   Waterloo   and   Franco…German   War   periods 

were     amply     illustrated    in   numerous      other    novels    of   more    assured 

suitability; I had the less hesitation in deciding against the two works just 

named。      In   the   selections   from   Foreign   Historical   Fiction   nothing   more 

has been attempted than to include the leading examples; most of these; it 

will be found; have been translated into English。 

     Before leaving the
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