William Powell Frith, The Fair Toxophilites
A virtuous young lady loves a proud man.
Ellen Wallace (1816-1894) wrote seven novels beginning in 1840, of which this was the last. Its silly central plot conflict is kept mercifully in the background, allowing for a thoroughly entertaining display of its many and various settings and characters.
“The novel reminds us, in many respects, of Madame D’Arblay’s Cecilia . . . in the felicitous delineations of character, the accurate descriptions of varied habits of life, and the skilful management of the dialogues. . . . The conduct of the story is excellent.” Saturday Review, April 12, 1856
The novel “is pleasant for the archness and good humour which are its predominating characters.” Examiner, April 26, 1856
“This is a book we can cordially recommend to such of our readers as may be in search of a good novel:—it is clever and interesting, the two cardinal virtues of a novel.” Athenaeum, April 26, 1856
Download this week’s novel:
v.1 https://archive.org/details/beyminstre01wall
v.2 https://archive.org/details/beyminstre02wall
v.3 https://archive.org/details/beyminstre03wall