Volume 1 of the Series, Price 2s.

THE STORY OF BESSIE COSTRELL,

By Mrs. HUMPHRY WARD.

The CHRISTIAN WORLD.--"Mrs. Ward has done nothing finer than this brief story. The sustained interest, which does not permit the reader to miss a line; the vivid clearness in which each character stands out in self-revelation; the unfailing insight into the familiar and confused workings of the village mind--all represent work of the highest class. 'The Story of Bessie Costrell' will become an English classic."

The TIMES.--"There are masterly touches and striking sentences in many pages of this little volume.... Mrs. Humphry Ward's admirers will say that she has seldom written with more force than in describing the tardy remorse of the hard, unrelenting husband."

The MANCHESTER GUARDIAN.--"As full of power as anything Mrs. Ward has written, and the impetus of its style, together with the charm belonging to many of its turns of thought, as well as of phrase, would of themselves suffice to hold any reader who takes it up until he has turned its last page."

The DAILY TELEGRAPH.--"An admirable example of Mrs. Humphry Ward's literary power; a brief, decided, and masterful sketch."