Novel 165: Sir Arthur Hallam Elton, Herbert Chauncey (1860)

Walter Field, Men were Deceivers Ever

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A faithless lover is secretly pursued by a vindictive father.

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Sir Arthur Hallam Elton (1818-1883), a baronet and member of Parliament, wrote only two novels, of which this is the second. The characters are interesting, the style good, and the plot involving, though it ends with odd abruptness, seeming to hint at a sequel that never came.

“We congratulate Sir Arthur Elton and the public” on his “brilliant success. . . .  Among the distinguishing merits of the novel . . . are the freshness and artistic construction of the story.  It is full of variety, yet its unity is perfectly preserved, unbroken by a single episode.  Its interest increases in intensity with an even progression from the first chapter to the last.” Spectator, August 4, 1860

“There is a largeness and simplicity in the conception of the plot, which is worked out with facile dialogue and in a narrative that never flags.  There are no tedious descriptions, no second-hand moralities, all is action and passion well presented.” Examiner, October 13, 1860

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v.1 https://archive.org/details/herbertchaunceym01elto

v.2 https://archive.org/details/herbertchaunceym02elton

v.3 https://archive.org/details/herbertchaunceym03elton

Novel 164: Amelia Perrier, A Good Match (1872)

George Elgar Hicks, Maud

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A spirited young lady resists her cruel baronet uncle’s plan to marry her to a wealthy pork-dealer.

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Amelia Perrier (1841-1875) wrote two novels during her sadly brief career, of which this sprightly social comedy, featuring a refreshingly assertive heroine, is the second.

“‘A Good Match’ is very brisk and vivacious, and sparkles with arch humour.  Its heroine . . . tells her own story with a keen sense of fun in its recital. . . .  The charm of the story is its freshness, vigour, and dash. . . . The two volumes bristle with little keen, sharp sayings.  But beyond the charm of manner there is a deeper and truer charm . . . which is the thorough unaffected contempt of the writer for all that is base and cruel and mean.” Examiner, June 22, 1872

“Miss Perrier’s pen is perfectly unlaboured; she writes with ease, and apparently, out of a merry heart, in which the humour is untainted by cynicism; and it is a relief to sit down with two little volumes like these—trifling though the story is—after wearing through novels and tales innumerable, wrought, with much painstaking ability, out of their authors’ profound misconception of their own ability. . . . It reads like what it pretends to be, the autobiography of a healthy-minded, handsome girl, too courageous to be cowed by the kicks and cuffs of unloving relatives.” Spectator, November 2, 1872

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v.1 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004D724#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-889%2C-125%2C3203%2C2480

v.2 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004D72A#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-71%2C-147%2C2766%2C2142

Novel 163: Justin McCarthy, Miss Misanthrope (1877)

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A virtuous young lady moves to London, determined to live there a life of cultured independence.

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Here is another novel by McCarthy (see Novel 059), with a variety of vivid characters and  some amusing incidental satire on poetic modernism.

“These two volumes . . . contain some of the most felicitous studies of character that we have seen for a long while. . . .  We should say that intelligence—free, kindly vision—(with high conscientiousness and much goodness of heart) was Mr. McCarthy’s strong point as a novelist.  He always understands; and he makes his readers understand.  He has, also, plenty of kindly humour. . . . He has given us a brilliant and thoughtful novel:  which may also be treated, if the reader pleases, as an essay of rare intelligence and fine humour, illustrated by social studies of great fidelity, wholly free from any taint of cynicism or high-flying sentiment.” Contemporary Review, December 1, 1877

“Miss Misanthrope is indeed, to our thinking, a work which has some very striking merits. . . .  The characters are fresh and consistently kept up. . . .  The author displays a singular talent in dealing with mixed motives, and exhibiting without any tiresome display of analytical power his just observation of the working of ordinary as well as unusual natures. . . .  Those who care for a keen—one might almost say a brilliant—chronicle of the fashions and follies of the times, the satire of which is just enough dashed with tenderness, are certain to read Mr. McCarthy’s novel with pleasure.” Saturday Review, January 12, 1878

“It is difficult to know where one should begin one’s praise of this brilliant and charming book. . . .  which is at once vigorous in conception, brilliant in execution, pure in sentiment, and faultless in design.” Examiner, January 26, 1878

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https://archive.org/details/missmisanthrope00mcca

Novel 162: Edward Eggleston, The Faith Doctor (1891)

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A fashionable young banker falls in love with an earnestly Christian woman.

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Edward Eggleston (1837-1902) was a Methodist minister, a magazine editor, and a historian as well as a novelist; he wrote a dozen or so works of fiction in various genres.  This one, in its vivid portrayal of 1880s New York, its nuanced delineation of complex characters, its careful, plausible plot, its apt and witty style, is a sadly forgotten masterpiece.

“As a study of American life . . . The Faith Doctor is a strikingly clever book. . . . One breathes the very air of New York while following the rapid movements of the story; and the impression which it leaves upon the mind is that of having talked with all manner of interesting people, on topics that will keep one thinking.” Academy, January 9, 1892

“This is a really admirable novel. . . .  There are excellent social sketches, and more than one character drawn with a delicate skill which would do credit to any writer of fiction. . . .  The writing throughout is of very good quality.  The Faith-Doctor is worth reading for its style, its wit, and its humour, and not less . . . for its pathos.” Spectator, March 19, 1892

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https://archive.org/details/faithdoctorstory00egglrich

Novel 161: Sir Henry Stewart Cunningham, Late Laurels (1864)

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A restless, flirtatious young lady makes trouble between her neighbors.

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Here is another novel by Cunningham (see Novel 020).  The style is bright and the characterization subtle.  (There is also some political satire, which no doubt had more point in 1864 than it does now.)

“As pleasant a tale as readers not vowed to a predilection for sensation novels could desire.” Athenaeum, June 4, 1864

“The style is always pure, and often brilliant, and the dialogue displays considerable mastery of . . . light repartee.” Westminster Review, June 1864

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v.2 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_000000043C32#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-847%2C-123%2C3174%2C2457

Novel 160: Mrs. Henry Wood, Roland Yorke (1869)

Richard Dadd, Portrait of a Young Man

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A man is murdered; several characters are suspected in turn.

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Here is the sequel to last week’s novel, The Channings, featuring (in addition to a few members of its exemplary title family) its scapegrace anti-hero, back from Africa and plunged in the midst of a murder mystery. It includes also a virtuous novelist killed by a bad review in a journal called The Snarler.

“A murder is started, pursued, worried, treated in fact like a hunted criminal.  Anxious to find its proper home, it seeks refuge, first under a flimsy disguise of suicide, then in the arms of this or that innocent person.  The most unlikely persons are pitched upon inevitably by the reader, and the real author of the disaster is untouched by suspicion up to the very last moment.  We must, in fairness, give Mrs. Wood credit for much care and ingenuity in keeping us in the dark so long. . . . There is something of original conception in the character of Roland Yorke.” Athenaeum, October 16, 1869

“It says a good deal for Mrs. Wood’s powers of narration that her story should show so smoothly as it does, interwoven as it is with a tissue of extravagances  and incongruities.” Saturday Review, March 5, 1870

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Novel 159: Mrs. Henry Wood, The Channings (1862)

John Partridge, The Clough-Taylor Family

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An exemplary family struggles against misfortune in a cathedral town.

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Here is another novel by Mrs. Wood, with many of the same qualities, good and bad, as East Lynne (see Novel 077).  Among its minor characters is a mischievous choirboy named Bywater.

“It can never be read without profit both by parents and children. . . . The merit . . . lies in the detail, and the extreme truthfulness and simplicity in which it is related. . . . It is impossible not to read every word with interest; and we feel that we know every character intimately, and feel real regret at parting with them.” Athenaeum, April 26, 1862

“It is pleasing, and readable, and well-contrived. . . . Very few of the purveyors of fiction could write as good a book.” Saturday Review, May 10, 1862

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v.1 https://archive.org/details/channings01wood

v.2 https://archive.org/details/channings02wood

v.3 https://archive.org/details/channings03wood

Novel 158: Annie Edwardes, Ought We To Visit Her? (1871)

John William Godward, Ionian Dancing Girl

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An Englishman, newly inheriting the family estate, returns after many years on the Continent with his ballet dancer wife.

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Annie Edwardes (1830?-1896) wrote some 21 novels, many featuring heroines who, like the one here, defy Victorian social convention.

“Mrs. Edwardes understands and describes man very well indeed; and woman and her nature she understands something more than very well.” Pall Mall Gazette, November 21, 1871

“This is the brightest book we have read for some time. . . .  With little plot and less descriptive writing, it is full of sparkle, and point, and sub-acid humour, and sketches of character.” Spectator, November 25, 1871

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https://archive.org/details/oughtwetovisith03edwagoog

Novel 157: Noell Radecliffe, Wheel within Wheel (1861)

Daniel Maclise, Title Unknown

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A woman loves a man who regrets an entanglement with a married woman.

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Here is another masterpiece by the unknown Radecliffe (see Novels 005, 105); its carefully finished plot, lively but nuanced characters, and incisive style are all typical of its author.

“It is written throughout with a remarkable smoothness and evenness;  . . . its characters are, in general, well conceived and consistently carried out, and both its hero and heroine, without being at all unnatural, are sufficiently out of the common way to inspire more than common degree of interest.  The construction of the story, however, is, we are inclined to think, the point which does the author most credit.  This is, as might be expected from the title of the book, of a more than usually complicated nature; and we are compelled at once to admire the ingenuity which has led to its conception, and the singular skill by which so great a multiplicity of distinct interests and incidents are made to converge to the final catastrophe.” Spectator, May 5, 1861

“A lively, brisk novel” written “with apparently great ease, and very considerable correctness of style.” Critic, May 11, 1861

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v.1 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_000000049E36#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-459%2C-107%2C3367%2C2237

v.2 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004C158#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-1223%2C-128%2C3825%2C2542

v.3 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_000000049E3C#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-492%2C-121%2C3424%2C2275

Novel 156: W.E. Norris, My Friend Jim (1886)

Jan van Beers, Portrait of a Young Woman

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A ruthless rector’s daughter lets nothing interfere with her social and material ambition.

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Here is yet another novel by that most unjustly neglected of unjustly neglected novelists, W.E. Norris (see Novels 002, 054, 104).  This one features an amusingly bad anti-heroine.

“A capital sketch . . . of some phases of modern English life . . . told in an admirable way. . . .  Since Thackeray wrote, no British novelist, Trollope and one later writer excepted, present such amusing and delicate social cynicism, such fidelity to human nature, or handle such a diamond pointed pen when holding up the weakness and folly of mortal man.” Independent, September 30, 1886

“Mr. Norris does not crowd his canvas, his presentment of life is veracious and sober, his environment is clearly, often brilliantly, delineated, his characters are persuasively human and unheroic.” Saturday Review, October 16, 1886

“To those who appreciate finished style, quietly cynical humour, and consistent art in the rapid delineation of varied character, it can hardly fail to afford a treat.” Observer, December 26, 1886

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v.1 https://archive.org/details/myfriendjim01norr

v.2 https://archive.org/details/myfriendjim02norr

Novel 155: Charlotte Yonge, The Pillars of the House (1873)

Frederick Daniel Hardy, An Anxious Time

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A large orphaned family grows up in genteel poverty.

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I have not yet read all Charlotte Yonge’s novels (see Novels 003, 053, 103), but of those I have read, this is the masterpiece.  It is twice as long even as the average Victorian three-volume novel, but you will wish it longer.

“We do not think that many of those who begin the four volumes will be content to leave them unfinished; and few who do finish them will not feel as if a great group were added to their intimate friends. . . . Miss Yonge’s dramatis personæ have the reality which others seek in vain to give. . . . It is intimate realization of her own characters, as living people, that gives to Miss Yonge’s stories, in spite of their apparent want of construction, a consistency, a tendency to one point which we sometimes miss in novels more ambitiously composed, and involving an obvious and avowed ‘plot’. . . . Her skill in drawing a number of people, all of whom have a family likeness, while each is yet unmistakably distinct from all the others . . . and, at the same time, perfectly consistent in his or her own development, was never more severely tested than in this history of the thirteen young Underwoods, whose fortunes she follows for eighteen years. . . . The charm consists . . . in the admirably accurate delineation of the daily ‘hopes and fears, passions and pleasures,’ which mould the quiet natures and sway the otherwise uneventful lives of” her characters. Athenaeum, September 27, 1873

“Her range is of the narrowest, but within it she shows herself thoroughly the artist.  Nearly all her characters here . . . have a distinct life and individuality of their own.” Examiner, December 6, 1873

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v.1 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004CC9E#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-1724%2C-221%2C4882%2C2504

v.2 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004F1A0#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-1710%2C-125%2C4854%2C2489

Novel 154: Mary E. Mann, The Parish of Hilby (1883)

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A farmer falls in love with one woman while entangling himself with another.

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For Mann, see Novel 016.  This is her first novel, justly praised for its unpretending plot and careful characterization.

“The whole book is pervaded by a keen sense of those subtle class distinctions which play so great a part in country life.” Academy, March 31, 1883

“Mrs. Mann writes a sensible, characteristic, and thoroughly entertaining ‘story of a quiet place.’  She affects nothing and makes no pretence; her tale of the parish of Hilby is refreshingly straightforward, and she succeeds admirably in her modest undertaking. . . .  Few more genuine or delightful romances have recently made their appearance.” Athenaeum, April 7, 1883

“Though it does not make great promises, at all events it performs as much as it has undertaken, after a thorough and enjoyable fashion which is not always to be met with in more ambitious works.”  It provides “a good and carefully-drawn picture of tranquil country life. . . .  Mrs. Mann has the excellent gift of being able to put herself in the place of the individuals she writes about, looking at things from the point of view they would be likely to take, and sympathizing with their sentiments, and this gift imparts real human nature to her work, and enables her to render faithfully delicate gradations of disposition and feeling which are not very easy to put into words, though it is by no means unusual for people to have a vague impression of their existence.” Spectator, April 14, 1883

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http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/f/89vilt/oxfaleph014791028

Novel 153: Frances Cashel Hoey, Falsely True (1870)

John Bagnold Burgess, A Spanish Beauty in a Red and Black Lace Shawl

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Prevented by tragic family history from marrying the virtuous young lady he loves, a young man seeks his fortune in Brazil.

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Here is another novel by Hoey (see Novel 067), with a plot not unreasonably censured by the critics, but several vivid, conflicted characters.

“Upon the whole an interesting and carefully written book.” Athenaeum, September 3, 1870

“There is a great deal of power in this story; and not a little of it is shown in the sketches of character, though less, we think, in the conception of the plot, which is very finely conceived, if not quite as well executed”; it will “earn for Mrs. Cashel Hoey a reputation far above that of the most successful manufacturer of ‘novels of the season.’” Spectator, September 24, 1870

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v.1 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000003F408#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=6&xywh=-317%2C-1%2C3052%2C1951

v.2 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000003F40E#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=6&xywh=-305%2C-1%2C3061%2C1957

v.3 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000003F414#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-1217%2C-125%2C3900%2C2493

Novel 152: Margaret Oliphant, Hester (1883)

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A rich, powerful female banker neglects one cousin, a talented young woman, and favors another, a dashing young man.

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Here is another novel by Oliphant (see Novels 007, 008, 056, 107).  It lacks concision, but it  represents some particularly interesting, internally conflicted major characters, and some particularly amusing minor ones.

“The author has drawn powerful pictures of this country town, and introduced into her tale a number of remarkable character sketches.  No other writer describes as well as Mrs. Oliphant all the lights and shades and the almost invisible barriers which serve to divide into as many distinct classes the dwellers in provincial neighbourhoods. . . . The scenes as the dénoûment approaches are very powerful, the climax artistically foreshadowed.” Morning Post, January 2, 1884

“I have had so much pleasure in the book—its immeasurable delicacies of observation, its keenness of perception, its many moving touches of humour and wit and fine creativeness. . . . It has a certain distinction of manner, an easy mastery of method, and a fine superiority of mental attitude.” Academy, January 5, 1884

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http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/f/89vilt/oxfaleph014632723

Novel 151: Laurence William Lockhart, Fair to See (1871)

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A young soldier goes to Scotland to shoot birds and falls unwisely in love.

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Laurence William Lockhart (1831-1882), was an army officer (he was present at the siege of Sebastopol) and newspaper correspondent (he was nearly executed during the Franco-Prussian War) as well as the author of three novels, of which this is the second.  Despite a slow start, and aside from a couple of overdrawn caricatures, it has vivid characters and an excellent plot.

“Just as we are usually better pleased by a painter who gives us a faithful view of some place well known to us . . . than by one who represents wonderful scenes with which we are not familiar, so is it with the story-teller: and thus a novel like the present, the incidents of which involve what is more or less the only form wherein romance presents itself in the lives of ordinary people, pleases far more than the productions of the criminal school, which appeal to the experiences of (fortunately) a very limited portion of the public.” Athenaeum, November 18, 1871

“Next to the masterpieces that are apparently things of the past, we like the clever novel that grows on one”; Lockhart “shows power in the numberless little touches that lighten love scenes and descriptions; in slight liftings of the corner of the veil that hides the future from us; in felicitous ways of putting things.” Saturday Review, January 20, 1872

“Fair to See is so pleasant a novel to read that one does not care to ask too curiously whether it is written according to the rules of art.” Spectator, March 23, 1872

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v.1 https://archive.org/details/fairtoseenovel01lock

v.2 https://archive.org/details/fairtoseenovel02lock

v. 3 https://archive.org/details/fairtoseenovel03lock

Novel 150: Albany de Grenier de Fonblanque, Jedwood Justice (1892)

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A popular young man is rumored to have run off with a cruel baronet's wife.

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This, like the same author’s A Tangled Skein (Novel 089), is an intricately plotted mystery with vivid characters, written in a lively style.

“The machinery of the plot is intricate and uncommonly well worked.  And although ingenuity and multiplicity of incident are the cardinal features of Mr. De Fonblanque's book, there are many passages which rise to a higher level” and are “full of insight and expressive power.” Athenaeum, January 2, 1892

“It is written throughout with force; it has a carefully constructed plot, and ends with a dénouement which the reader, even though experienced at guessing surprises, will hardly have expected.” Spectator, January 30, 1892

“There is no flagging in Jedwood Justice: the country society is well sketched.” Academy, February 6, 1892

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v.1 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004D292#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-286%2C-1%2C2952%2C1962

v.2 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004D298#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-279%2C-139%2C3208%2C2132

v.3 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004D29E#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-287%2C-1%2C2947%2C1959

Novel 149: Victoria Baker, Half-a-Dozen Daughters (1871)

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A gentleman loses his competence in foolish speculations and tries to support his six daughters by running a chemist's shop in Yorkshire.

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Victoria Baker (1838-1913) wrote five novels between 1864 and 1894 under the pseudonym J. Masterman.  This one is a lively treatment of several common Victorian themes.

“Without being exactly a work of genius, this is a very pleasant, wholesome novel, showing considerable descriptive power, and introducing us to some very agreeable and amiable characters.  The author writes in a fresh, lively style, and his dialogue is singularly crisp and natural. He has a keen sense of humour, and at times is unaffectedly pathetic.” Illustrated Review, November, 1871

“In tracing the quiet annals of this interesting family the reader will find many domestic pictures full of homeliness and beauty.  The characters are drawn with individuality and distinctness, the narrative is easy, and the episodes are life-like and natural.” Morning Post, November 20, 1871

“Half-a-Dozen Daughters is one of those healthy, natural books which remind one of a breezy day in the country.” Saturday Review, December 16, 1871

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v.1 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004616A#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-314%2C-1%2C3274%2C1975

v.2 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_0000000437EE#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-299%2C-1%2C3276%2C1976

Novel 148: Percy White, Andria (1896)

George Frederick Watts, Lady Dalrymple

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A thoughtful and beautiful young lady is wooed by a painter, a rich young man, and (catastrophically) a philosopher.

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Here is another engaging social comedy—or tragicomedy—by White (see Novel 075).

One character is “a finished picture and a masterpiece. . . .  one of the most brilliantly executed portraits in modern fiction.” Pall Mall Gazette, December 2, 1896

“A clever novel, subtle and discriminating in its character-drawing, containing at least one remarkable portrait, and full of excellent things that make it worth reading.” The Standard, January 1, 1897.

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https://archive.org/details/andria00whitgoog

Novel 147: Rosa Mackenzie Kettle, Lewell Pastures (1854)

William Holman Hunt, Morning Prayer

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A younger son settles on an unpromising farm left him by his godfather.

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Rosa Mackenzie Kettle (1818-1895) wrote some 26 novels between 1839 and 1895.  This one has an involving (if sometimes contrived) plot and vivid (if sometimes exaggerated) characters.

“It is very pleasantly and unaffectedly written, is full of excellent description, and very true, but not common-place, analysis of character. . . .  The cleverest and truest portraits in the book, delicately, yet most forcibly touched” are those of an unhappily married couple.  “We have rarely seen that vague and baffling scourge of married life, incompatibility, analysed with a more masterly hand.” Leader and Saturday Analyst, August 5, 1854

“The story is ingenious, and extremely well told; although the materials are very simple, the interest is kept up, and those who begin to read will not be likely to put it down before they come to an end. . . .  Those who are looking for a pleasant novel cannot do better.” Athenaeum, August 12, 1854

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v.1 https://archive.org/details/lewellpastures01kett

v.2 https://archive.org/details/lewellpastures02kett

Novel 146: Thomas Cobb, The Dissemblers (1900)

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A selfish woman sends emissaries after her runaway orphan niece, with unanticipated consequences.

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Here is another novel by Cobb (see Novel 043), just as well-plotted, and witty, and brief as the last.

“In The Dissemblers, Mr. Cobb has constructed an amusing intrigue on the basis of a most ordinary domestic situation. . . .  It is continually funny, not in phrase, but in its predicaments.” Academy, November 3, 1900

“The Dissemblers . . . shows that Mr. Cobb has by no means exhausted his large fund of pleasant invention nor abated one jot of his vivacity and sharp staccato treatment. . . .  In his limited range it would be hard to find an English novelist to equal Mr. Cobb, and we must cherish all the light comedy that the national temperament allows us.” The Speaker, November 17, 1900

“This is as dainty a comedy of errors as has appeared for many a month.  The plot is as meagre as such a web of trifles should be, the portraiture is delicate and truthful, and there is a steady flow of deft and sprightly wit, with several unimpeachably skilful situations.” Saturday Review, November 17, 1900

“Mr. Cobb has proved again in ‘The Dissemblers’ that he is a first-rate author with whom to spend an idle hour.  He imposes no tax upon the mind or emotions, and is always amusing and entertaining.  All his characters are delightful people who keep doing interesting things with a vengeance, and, however seriously they may take themselves, there is an element of quizzicality in his handling of them that is a direct appeal to the reader’s sense of humor.” Chicago Tribune, November 24, 1900

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