Part 26
“We have had frequent opportunities of commending Messrs. Hurst and Blackett’s Standard Library. For neatness, elegance, and distinctness the volumes in this series surpass anything with which we are familiar. ‘The Laird of Norlaw’ will fully sustain the author’s high reputation. The reader is carried on from first to last with an energy of sympathy that never flags.”--_Sunday Times._
“‘The Laird of Norlaw’ is worthy of the author’s reputation. It is one of the most exquisite of modern novels.”--_Observer._
XVI.--THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN ITALY.
BY MRS. G. GRETTON.
“Mrs. Gretton had opportunities which rarely fall to the lot of strangers of becoming acquainted with the inner life and habits of a part of the Italian peninsula which is the very centre of the national crisis. We can praise her performance as interesting, unexaggerated, and full of opportune instruction.”--_The Times._
“Mrs. Gretton’s book is timely, life-like, and for every reason to be recommended. It is impossible to close the book without liking the writer as well as the subject. The work is engaging, because real.”--_Athenæum._
XVII.--NOTHING NEW.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.”
“‘Nothing New’ displays all those superior merits which have made ‘John Halifax’ one of the most popular works of the day. There is a force and truthfulness about these tales which mark them as the production of no ordinary mind, and we cordially recommend them to the perusal of all lovers of fiction.”--_Morning Post._
XVIII.--LIFE OF JEANNE D’ALBRET, QUEEN OF NAVARRE.
BY MISS FREER.
“We have read this book with great pleasure, and have no hesitation in recommending it to general perusal. It reflects the highest credit on the industry and ability of Miss Freer. Nothing can be more interesting than her story of the life of Jeanne D’Albret, and the narrative is as trustworthy as it is attractive.”--_Morning Post._
XIX.--THE VALLEY OF A HUNDRED FIRES.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “MARGARET AND HER BRIDESMAIDS.”
“If asked to classify this work, we should give it a place between ‘John Halifax’ and ‘The Caxtons.’”--_Standard._
“The spirit in which the whole book is written is refined and good.”--_Athenæum._
“This is in every sense a charming novel.”--_Messenger._
XX.--THE ROMANCE OF THE FORUM; OR, NARRATIVES, SCENES, AND ANECDOTES FROM COURTS OF JUSTICE.
BY PETER BURKE, SERJEANT AT LAW.
“This attractive book will be perused with much interest. It contains a great variety of singular and highly romantic stories.”--_John Bull._
“A work of singular interest, which can never fail to charm and absorb the reader’s attention. The present cheap and elegant edition includes the true story of the Colleen Bawn.”--_Illustrated News._
XXI.--ADÈLE.
BY JULIA KAVANAGH.
“‘Adèle’ is the best work we have read by Miss Kavanagh; it is a charming story, full of delicate character-painting. The interest kindled in the first chapter burns brightly to the close.”--_Athenæum._
“‘Adèle’ will fully sustain the reputation of Miss Kavanagh, high as it already ranks.”--_John Bull._
“‘Adèle’ is a love-story of very considerable pathos and power. It is a very clever novel.”--_Daily News._
XXII.--STUDIES FROM LIFE.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.”
“These ‘Studies’ are truthful and vivid pictures of life, often earnest, always full of right feeling, and occasionally lightened by touches of quiet, genial humour. The volume is remarkable for thought, sound sense, shrewd observation, and kind and sympathetic feeling for all things good and beautiful.”--_Morning Post._
“These ‘Studies from Life’ are remarkable for graphic power and observation. The book will not diminish the reputation of the accomplished author.”--_Saturday Review._
XXIII.--GRANDMOTHER’S MONEY.
BY F. W. ROBINSON.
“We commend ‘Grandmother’s Money’ to readers in search of a good novel. The characters are true to human nature, and the story is interesting.”--_Athenæum._
XXIV.--A BOOK ABOUT DOCTORS.
BY JOHN CORDY JEAFFRESON.
“A book to be read and re-read; fit for the study as well as the drawing-room table and the circulating library.”--_Lancet._
“This is a pleasant book for the fireside season, and for the seaside season. Mr. Jeaffreson has, out of hundreds of volumes, collected thousands of good things, adding thereto much that appears in print for the first time, and which, of course, gives increased value to this very readable book.”--_Athenæum._
XXV.--NO CHURCH.
BY F. W. ROBINSON.
“We advise all who have the opportunity to read this book. It is well worth the study.”--_Athenæum._
“A work of great originality, merit, and power.”--_Standard._
XXVI.--MISTRESS AND MAID.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.”
“A good wholesome book, gracefully written, and as pleasant to read as it is instructive.”--_Athenæum._
“A charming tale, charmingly told.”--_Standard._
“All lovers of a good novel will hail with delight another of Mrs. Craik’s charming stories.”--_John Bull._
XXVII.--LOST AND SAVED.
BY THE HON. MRS. NORTON.
“‘Lost and Saved’ will be read with eager interest by those who love a touching story. It is a vigorous novel.”--_Times._
“This story is animated, full of exciting situations and stirring incidents. The characters are delineated with great power. Above and beyond these elements of a good novel, there is that indefinable charm with which true genius invests all it touches.”--_Daily News._
XXVIII.--LES MISERABLES.
BY VICTOR HUGO.
_Authorised Copyright English Translation._
“The merits of ‘Les Miserables’ do not merely consist in the conception of it as a whole; it abounds with details of unequalled beauty. M. Victor Hugo has stamped upon every page the hall-mark of genius.”--_Quarterly Review._
XXIX.--BARBARA’S HISTORY.
BY AMELIA B. EDWARDS.
“It is not often that we light upon a novel of so much merit and interest as ‘Barbara’s History.’ It is a work conspicuous for taste and literary culture. It is a very graceful and charming book, with a well-managed story, clearly-cut characters, and sentiments expressed with an exquisite elocution. The dialogues especially sparkle with repartee. It is a book which the world will like. This is high praise of a work of art and so we intend it.”--_The Times._
XXX.--LIFE OF THE REV. EDWARD IRVING.
BY MRS. OLIPHANT.
“A good book on a most interesting theme.”--_Times._
“A truly interesting and most affecting memoir. ‘Irving’s Life’ ought to have a niche in every gallery of religious biography. There are few lives that will be fuller of instruction, interest, and consolation.”--_Saturday Review._
XXXI.--ST. OLAVE’S.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “JANITA’S CROSS.”
“This novel is the work of one who possesses a great talent for writing, as well as experience and knowledge of the world. The whole book is worth reading.”--_Athenæum._
“‘St Olave’s’ belongs to a lofty order of fiction. It is a good novel, but it is something more. It is written with unflagging ability, and it is as even as it is clever. The author has determined to do nothing short of the best, and has succeeded.”--_Morning Post._
XXXII.--SAM SLICK’S TRAITS OF AMERICAN HUMOUR.
“Dip where you will into this lottery of fun, you are sure to draw out a prize. These ‘Traits’ exhibit most successfully the broad national features of American humour.”--_Post._
XXXIII.--CHRISTIAN’S MISTAKE.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.”
“A more charming story has rarely been written. It is a choice gift to be able thus to render human nature so truly, to penetrate its depths with such a searching sagacity, and to illuminate them with a radiance so eminently the writer’s own.”--_Times._
XXXIV.--ALEC FORBES OF HOWGLEN.
BY GEORGE MAC DONALD, LL.D.
“No account of this story would give any idea of the profound interest that pervades the work from the first page to the last.”--_Athenæum._
“A novel of uncommon merit. Sir Walter Scott said he would advise no man to try to read ‘Clarissa Harlowe’ out loud in company if he wished to keep his character for manly superiority to tears. We fancy a good many hardened old novel-readers will feel a rising in the throat as they follow the fortunes of Alec and Annie.”--_Pall Mall Gazette._
XXXV.--AGNES.
BY MRS. OLIPHANT.
“‘Agnes’ is a novel superior to any of Mrs. Oliphant’s former works.”--_Athenæum._
“Mrs. Oliphant is one of the most admirable of our novelists. In her works there are always to be found high principle, good taste, sense, and refinement. ‘Agnes’ is a story whose pathetic beauty will appeal irresistibly to all readers.”--_Morning Post._
XXXVI.--A NOBLE LIFE.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.”
“Few men and no women will read ‘A Noble Life’ without feeling themselves the better for the effort.”--_Spectator._
“A beautifully written and touching tale. It is a noble book.”--_Morning Post._
“‘A Noble Life’ is remarkable for the high types of character it presents, and the skill with which they are made to work out a story of powerful and pathetic interest.”--_Daily News._
XXXVII.--NEW AMERICA.
BY W. HEPWORTH DIXON.
“A very interesting book. Mr. Dixon has written thoughtfully and well.”--_Times._
“We recommend everyone who feels any interest in human nature to read Mr. Dixon’s very interesting book.”--_Saturday Review._
XXXVIII.--ROBERT FALCONER.
BY GEORGE MAC DONALD, LL.D.
“‘Robert Falconer’ is a work brimful of life and humour and of the deepest human interest. It is a book to be returned to again and again for the deep and searching knowledge it evinces of human thoughts and feelings.”--_Athenæum._
XXXIX.--THE WOMAN’S KINGDOM.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.”
“‘The Woman’s Kingdom’ sustains the author’s reputation as a writer of the purest and noblest kind of domestic stories.”--_Athenæum._
“‘The Woman’s Kingdom’ is remarkable for its romantic interest. The characters are masterpieces. Edna is worthy of the hand that drew John Halifax.”--_Morning Post._
XL.--ANNALS OF AN EVENTFUL LIFE.
BY GEORGE WEBBE DASENT, D.C.L.
“A racy, well-written, and original novel. The interest never flags. The whole work sparkles with wit and humour.”--_Quarterly Review._
XLI.--DAVID ELGINBROD.
BY GEORGE MAC DONALD, LL.D.
“A novel which is the work of a man of genius. It will attract the highest class of readers.”--_Times._
XLII.--A BRAVE LADY.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.”
“We earnestly recommend this novel. It is a special and worthy specimen of the author’s remarkable powers. The reader’s attention never for a moment flags.”--_Post._
“‘A Brave Lady’ thoroughly rivets the unmingled sympathy of the reader, and her history deserves to stand foremost among the author’s works.”--_Daily Telegraph._
XLIII.--HANNAH.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.”
“A very pleasant, healthy story, well and artistically told. The book is sure of a wide circle of readers. The character of Hannah is one of rare beauty.”--_Standard._
“A powerful novel of social and domestic life. One of the most successful efforts of a successful novelist.”--_Daily News._
XLIV.--SAM SLICK’S AMERICANS AT HOME.
“This is one of the most amusing books that we ever read.”--_Standard._
“‘The Americans at Home’ will not be less popular than any of Judge Halliburton’s previous works.”--_Morning Post._
XLV.--THE UNKIND WORD.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.”
“These stories are gems of narrative. Indeed, some of them, in their touching grace and simplicity, seem to us to possess a charm even beyond the authoress’s most popular novels. Of none of them can this be said more emphatically than of that which opens the series, ‘The Unkind Word.’ It is wonderful to see the imaginative power displayed in the few delicate touches by which this successful love-story is sketched out.”--_The Echo._
XLVI.--A ROSE IN JUNE.
BY MRS. OLIPHANT.
“‘A Rose in June’ is as pretty as its title. The story is one of the best and most touching which we owe to the industry and talent of Mrs. Oliphant, and may hold its own with even ‘The Chronicles of Carlingford.’”--_Times._
XLVII.--MY LITTLE LADY.
BY E. FRANCES POYNTER.
“This story presents a number of vivid and very charming pictures. Indeed, the whole book is charming. It is interesting in both character and story, and thoroughly good of its kind.”--_Saturday Review._
XLVIII.--PHŒBE, JUNIOR.
BY MRS. OLIPHANT.
“This last ‘Chronicle of Carlingford’ not merely takes rank fairly beside the first which introduced us to ‘Salem Chapel,’ but surpasses all the intermediate records. Phœbe, Junior, herself is admirably drawn.”--_Academy._
XLIX.--LIFE OF MARIE ANTOINETTE.
BY PROFESSOR CHARLES DUKE YONGE.
“A work of remarkable merit and interest, which will, we doubt not, become the most popular English history of Marie Antoinette.”--_Spectator._
L.--SIR GIBBIE.
BY GEORGE MAC DONALD, LL.D.
“‘Sir Gibbie’ is a book of genius.”--_Pall Mall Gazette._
“This book has power, pathos, and humour.”--_Athenæum._
LI.--YOUNG MRS. JARDINE.
BY THE AUTHOR OF “JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.”
“‘Young Mrs. Jardine’ is a pretty story, written in pure English.”--_The Times._
“There is much good feeling in this book. It is pleasant and wholesome.”--_Athenæum._
LII.--LORD BRACKENBURY.
BY AMELIA B. EDWARDS.
“A very readable story. The author has well conceived the purpose of high-class novel-writing, and succeeded in no small measure in attaining it. There is plenty of variety, cheerful dialogue, and general ‘verve’ in the book.”--_Athenæum._
LIII.--IT WAS A LOVER AND HIS LASS.
BY MRS. OLIPHANT.
“In ‘It was a Lover and his Lass,’ we admire Mrs. Oliphant exceedingly. It would be worth reading a second time, were it only for the sake of one ancient Scottish spinster, who is nearly the counterpart of the admirable Mrs. Margaret Maitland.”--_Times._
LIV.--THE REAL LORD BYRON--THE STORY OF THE POET’S LIFE.
BY JOHN CORDY JEAFFRESON.
“Mr. Jeaffreson comes forward with a narrative which must take a very important place in Byronic literature; and it may reasonably be anticipated that this book will be regarded with deep interest by all who are concerned in the works and the fame of this great English poet.”--_The Times._
WORKS BY THE AUTHOR OF ‘SAM SLICK, THE CLOCKMAKER.’
_Each in One Volume, Frontispiece, and Uniformly Bound, Price 5s._
NATURE AND HUMAN NATURE.
“We enjoy our old friend’s company with unabated relish. This work is a rattling miscellany of sharp sayings, stories, and hard hits. It is full of fun and fancy.”--_Athenæum._
“Since Sam’s first work he has written nothing so fresh, racy, and genuinely humorous as this. Every line of it tells in some way or other--instructively, satirically, jocosely, or wittily. Admiration of Sam’s mature talents, and laughter at his droll yarns, constantly alternate as with unhalting avidity we peruse the work. The Clockmaker proves himself the fastest time-killer a-going.”--_Observer._
WISE SAWS AND MODERN INSTANCES.
“This delightful book will be the most popular, as beyond doubt it is the best, of all the author’s admirable works.”--_Standard._
“The book before us will be read and laughed over. Its quaint and racy dialect will please some readers--its abundance of yarns will amuse others. There is something to suit readers of every humour.”--_Athenæum._
“The humour of Sam Slick is inexhaustible. He is ever and everywhere a welcome visitor; smiles greet his approach, and wit and wisdom hang upon his tongue. We promise our readers a great treat from the perusal of these ‘Wise Saws,’ which contain a world of practical wisdom, and a treasury of the richest fun.”--_Morning Post._
THE OLD JUDGE; OR, LIFE IN A COLONY.
“By common consent this work is regarded as one of the raciest, truest to life, most humorous, and most interesting works which have proceeded from the prolific pen of its author. We all know what shrewdness of observation, what power of graphic description, what natural resources of drollery, and what a happy method of hitting off the broader characteristics of the life he reviews, belong to Judge Haliburton. We have all those qualities here; but they are balanced by a serious literary purpose, and are employed in the communication of information respecting certain phases of colonial experience which impart to the work an element of sober utility.”--_Sunday Times._
TRAITS OF AMERICAN HUMOUR.
“No man has done more than the facetious Judge Haliburton, through the mouth of the inimitable ‘Sam,’ to make the old parent country recognise and appreciate her queer transatlantic progeny. His present collection of comic stories and laughable traits is a budget of fun, full of rich specimens of American humour.”--_Globe._
“Yankeeism, portrayed in its raciest aspect, constitutes the contents of these superlatively entertaining sketches. The work embraces the most varied topics--political parties, religious eccentricities, the flights of literature, and the absurdities of pretenders to learning, all come in for their share of satire; while we have specimens of genuine American exaggerations and graphic pictures of social and domestic life as it is. The work will have a wide circulation.”--_John Bull._
THE AMERICANS AT HOME.
“In this highly entertaining work we are treated to another cargo of capital stories from the inexhaustible store of our Yankee friend. In the volume before us he dishes up, with his accustomed humour and terseness of style, a vast number of tales, none more entertaining than another, and all of them graphically illustrative of the ways and manners of brother Jonathan. The anomalies of American law, the extraordinary adventures incident to life in the backwoods, and, above all, the peculiarities of American society, are variously, powerfully, and, for the most part, amusingly exemplified.”--_John Bull._
“In the picturesque delineation of character, and the felicitous portraiture of national features, no writer equals Judge Haliburton, and the subjects embraced in the present delightful book call forth, in new and vigorous exercise, his peculiar powers. ‘The Americans at Home’ will not be less popular than any of his previous works.”--_Post._
LONDON: HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS.
WORKS BY THE AUTHOR OF
JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.
_Each in One Volume, Frontispiece, and Uniformly Bound, price 5s._
JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.
“This is a very good and a very interesting work. It is designed to trace the career from boyhood to age of a perfect man--a Christian gentleman, and it abounds in incident both well and highly wrought. Throughout it is conceived in a high spirit, and written with great ability. This cheap and handsome new edition is worthy to pass freely from hand to hand as a gift-book in many households.”--_Examiner._
“The story is very interesting. The attachment between John Halifax and his wife is beautifully painted, as are the pictures of their domestic life, and the growing up of their children, and the conclusion of the book is beautiful and touching.”--_Athenæum._
“The new and cheaper edition of this interesting work will doubtless meet with great success. John Halifax, the hero of this most beautiful story, is no ordinary hero, and this his history is no ordinary book. It is a full-length portrait of a true gentleman, one of nature’s own nobility. It is also the history of a home, and a thoroughly English one. The work abounds in incident, and is full of graphic power and true pathos. It is a book that few will read without becoming wiser and better.”--_Scotsman._
A WOMAN’S THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN.
“A book of sound counsel. It is one of the most sensible works of its kind, well written, true-hearted, and altogether practical. Whoever wishes to give advice to a young lady may thank the author for means of doing so.”--_Examiner._
“These thoughts are worthy of the earnest and enlightened mind, the all-embracing charity, and the well-earned reputation of the author of ‘John Halifax.’”--_Standard._
“This excellent book is characterised by good sense, good taste, and feeling, and is written in an earnest, philanthropic, as well as practical spirit.”--_Post._
A LIFE FOR A LIFE.
“We are always glad to welcome this author. She writes from her own convictions, and she has the power not only to conceive clearly what it is that she wishes to say, but to express it in language effective and vigorous. In ‘A Life for a Life’ she is fortunate in a good subject, and she has produced a work of strong effect. The reader, having read the book through for the story, will be apt (if he be of our persuasion) to return and read again many pages and passages with greater pleasure than on a first perusal. The whole book is replete with a graceful, tender delicacy; and, in addition to its other merits, it is written in good careful English.”--_Athenæum._
NOTHING NEW.
“‘Nothing New’ displays all those superior merits which have made ‘John Halifax’ one of the most popular works of the day.”--_Post._
“The reader will find these narratives calculated to remind him of that truth and energy of human portraiture, that spell over human affections and emotions, which have stamped this author as one of the first novelists of our day.”--_John Bull._
THE WOMAN’S KINGDOM.
“‘The Woman’s Kingdom’ sustains the author’s reputation as a writer of the purest and noblest kind of domestic stories. The novelist’s lesson is given with admirable force and sweetness.”--_Athenæum._
“‘The Woman’s Kingdom’ is remarkable for its romantic interest. The characters are masterpieces. Edna is worthy of the hand that drew John Halifax.”--_Post._
STUDIES FROM LIFE.
“These studies are truthful and vivid pictures of life, often earnest, always full of right feeling, and occasionally lightened by touches of quiet genial humour. The volume is remarkable for thought, sound sense, shrewd observation, and kind and sympathetic feeling for all things good and beautiful.”--_Post._
CHRISTIAN’S MISTAKE.
“A more charming story, to our taste, has rarely been written. Within the compass of a single volume the writer has hit off a circle of varied characters, all true to nature--some true to the highest nature--and she has entangled them in a story which keeps us in suspense till the knot is happily and gracefully resolved; while, at the same time, a pathetic interest is sustained by an art of which it would be difficult to analyse the secret. It is a choice gift to be able thus to render human nature so truly, to penetrate its depths with such a searching sagacity, and to illuminate them with a radiance so eminently the writer’s own. Even if tried by the standard of the Archbishop of York, we should expect that even he would pronounce ‘Christian’s Mistake’ a novel without a fault.”--_The Times._
“This is a story good to have from the circulating library, but better to have from one’s bookseller, for it deserves a place in that little collection of clever and wholesome stories which forms one of the comforts of a well-appointed home.”--_Examiner._
MISTRESS AND MAID.
“A good, wholesome book, as pleasant to read as it is instructive.”--_Athenæum._
“This book is written with the same true-hearted earnestness as ‘John Halifax.’ The spirit of the whole work is excellent.”--_Examiner._
“A charming tale charmingly told.”--_Standard._
A NOBLE LIFE.
“This is one of those pleasant tales in which the author of ‘John Halifax’ speaks out of a generous heart the purest truths of life.”--_Examiner._
“Few men, and no women, will read ‘A Noble Life’ without finding themselves the better.”--_Spectator._
“A story of powerful and pathetic interest.”--_Daily News._
A BRAVE LADY.
“A very good novel, showing a tender sympathy with human nature, and permeated by a pure and noble spirit.”--_Examiner._
“A most charming story.”--_Standard._
“We earnestly recommend this novel. It is a special and worthy specimen of the author’s remarkable powers. The reader’s attention never for a moment flags.”--_Post._
HANNAH.