Part 191

I. THE ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD, 449-1066 ==================+======================+============================ AUTHOR AND DATES | REPRESENTATIVE WORKS | LITERARY CHARACTERISTICS ------------------+----------------------+---------------------------- Unknown |_Traveller’s Song_ |Illustrates the sentiment of 700 | |a wandering singer and the | |Anglo-Saxon’s love of home. | | UNKNOWN |_Beowulf_ |An epic song, illustrating | |the powerful imagination of | |the race. | | UNKNOWN |Anglo-Saxon Chronicle |Contains in addition to 700-1154 | |historical data, one or two | |war-songs: Battle of Malden, | |etc. | | CAEDMON |_Paraphrase of |Showing how strong an appeal 600-? |Scripture_ |the Bible Story made to the | |reverence of the race. | | BEDE |Ecclesiastical |Inspired by early Christian 673-735 |History; _Poems_ |sentiment. | | Unknown |_Judith_ |Paraphrase of Bible 710-? | |narrative. | | CYNEWULF |_Poems_ |Serious poems of moral 750-? | |simplicity and power. | | Alfred the Great |_Translations_ |Some original matter inter- 849-901 | |polated, e. g., narrative of | |Othere, versified by Long- | |fellow. | | Alcuin |Letters, Biographies; |Friend of Charlemagne. Wrote 735-804 |_Christ_, _Elene |a comparatively pure Latin. |Andreas_, _etc._ | | | Ælfric |Homilies, Grammar |Writings in Latin; a man of 955-1020 | |power and sincerity. | | II. THE NORMAN-FRENCH PERIOD, 1066-1400 | | William of |History of Kings of |Of some value as an Malmesbury |England |original. 1095-1142 | | | | Geoffrey of |History of English |Largely legendary. The Monmouth |Kings |stories are rehashed in sub- 1154 | |sequent authors down to | |Spenser, Shakespeare and | |Milton. | | Wace, Richard |_Romance of Rollo_; |In reality a French trouvere 1112-1184 |_Brut d’Angleterre_ |though a subject of the King | |of England. First mention of | |Arthur’s Round Table. | | Mapes, Walter |De Nugus Curialium; |First mention of the Holy 1143-1210 |_Queste de Saint |Grail. |Graal_, _etc._ | | | LAYAMON |_Chronicles of |A devout priest and the 1150-1210 |Britain_ |first to make the new | |English a literary medium. | | Orm |_Ormulum_ |Also English. Some of the 1187-1237 |(_paraphrase_) |homilies are simple and | |touching expressions of | |devotion. | | Bacon, Roger |Natural Science |A man in advance of his age, 1214-1294 |Philosophy |he is said to have | |anticipated Francis Bacon in | |making experiment the basis | |of knowledge. | | Gloucester, Robert|_Chronicle of England_|Valuable for giving outlines of | |of history of Norman 13th Century | |England. | | Mandeville, Sir |Travels |Possibly a pen-name. His John | |travels are an extraordinary 1300-1371 | |farrago of invention and | |report. | | Barbour, John |_The Bruce_ |Spirited and patriotic, 1316-1395 | |loved by true Scotchmen. | | Langland, William |_Piers, the Plowman_ |Extraordinary man of broad 1330-1400 | |humanity. First expression | |of the voice of the poor. | | Wycliffe, John |Translation of Bible |A man of great power and 1324-1384 | |sincerity. A philosopher and | |scholar. | | Gower, John |_Ballads_; _Lover’s |Friend of Chaucer. A volumi- 1325-1408 |Confession_ |nous poet, not of high rank. | | CHAUCER, GEOFFREY |_Canterbury Tales_; |A scholar. A poet of chival- 1330-1400 |_Short poems_ |ry and a witty narrator of | |stories in verse. Introduced | |French and Italian metres. | |Equally eminent in descrip- | |tion and characterization. | | III. ENGLISH PERIOD TO THE TIME OF ELIZABETH, 1400-1559 | | JAMES I. OF |_The King’s Quhair_, |A decided poetic talent in SCOTLAND |(_Choir, etc._) |the chivalric fashion. 1394-1437 | | | | MALORY, SIR THOMAS|_Morte d’Arthur_ |Worked over a large part of 1430 | |the Arthurian legends in | |prose. The original for | |Tennyson’s “Idylls of the | |King.” | | Caxton, William |The Game of Chess; |Introduced the Art of print- 1422-1492 |Translation of the |ing, brought out Malory’s |Æneid |book and made and published | |many translations and | |adaptations. | | Dunbar, William |_Thistle and Rose_; |The Scotch Chaucer; much in- 1460-1530 |_Golden Terge_ |ferior to Chaucer and less | |of a popular poet. | | MORE, SIR THOMAS |Utopia, Life of Edward|A man of fine character. 1478-1535 |V. |“Utopia” first written in | |Latin and translated into | |nervous English. Plan | |suggested, perhaps, by | |Plato’s “Republic.” | | TYNDALE, WILLIAM |Translation of Bible |On his translations of the 1484-1536 | |Scriptures, later versions | |are founded. | | Wyntoun, Andrew |_Chronicle of |Story of Wallace. Much 15th Century |Scotland_ |admired by Walter Scott. | | IV. THE ELIZABETHAN AND PURITAN PERIODS, 1559-1660 | | WYATT, SIR THOMAS |_Sonnets and Lyrics_ |Introduced with Howard the 1503-1542 | |Italian forms; sonnet and | |madrigal, made Italian | |literature a new force in | |England. | | HOWARD, HENRY, |_Translation of the |Introduced Italian forms and EARL OF SURREY |Aeneid_; _Songs and |blank verse. 1517-1547 |Sonnets_ | | | Foxe, John |Book of Martyrs |His book had great influence 1517-1587 | |in strengthening the | |reformers and was one of the | |literary influences on the | |Puritans who came to | |America. | | Sackville, Thomas |_Mirror for |A poet of force and imagina- 1536-1608 |Magistrate_ |tion. Afterwards, as Lord | |Buckhurst, a courtier and | |politician, worked in col- | |laboration with others and | |had a hand in first English | |Tragedy. | | SPENCER, EDMUND |_Fairie Queen_; |Called the “poet’s poet.” 1552-1599 |_Shepherd’s Calendar_ |Great in romantic allegory, | |the ode, and the sonnet. | | Raleigh, Sir |History of the World |A politician and adventurer; Walter | |friend of Spenser. Some fine 1552-1618 | |passages in his work. | | Hooker, Richard |Ecclesiastical Polity |His prose has dignity and 1553-1600 | |force. His book is the | |authority for the Church of | |England. | | BACON, FRANCIS |Essays, Novum Organum |Many beautiful and acute 1561-1626 | |things in his essays and his | |philosophical works. | | SHAKESPEARE, WM. |_Dramas_, _Sonnets_, |Compounded of all writers 1564-1616 |(_37 plays_) |best: wit, humor, character- | |izations, philosophy, | |musical phrase, power and | |construction. | | Chapman, George |_Translation of Homer_|Full of vigor and verve, 1559-1634 | |especially his Homer. | | JONSON, BEN |_The Alchemist_; |A scholar and literary man. 1574-1637 |_Sejanus_; _Timber_, |A learned constructor of |_etc._ |plays, had also the true | |lyrical faculty. | | | |}Well constructed plays but BEAUMONT, FRANCIS |_Dramas_: _Philaster_;|}of a decidedly low moral 1584-1616 |_Maid_ |}tone. Beaumont is supposed | |}to have been the more FLETCHER, JOHN |_Tragedy_: _Woman |}promising but died before 1579-1625 |Hater_; _etc._ |}Fletcher, who continued to | |}produce plays alone, about | |}forty. | | Burton, Robert |Anatomy of Melancholy |Full of out-of-the-way 1577-1640 | |learning and quotations | |bearing on the subject. | | Herbert, George |_The Temple_, _etc._ |Animated by a devotional 1593-1633 | |spirit and an aesthetic | |spiritualism. | | HERRICK, ROBERT |_Poems_ |Lyrics, many of them of 1591-1674 | |charming quality and in- | |genious construction. | | Walton, Isaak |The Compleat Angler |Prose of a delightful char- 1593-1683 | |acter, full of simple piety | |and love of out-door nature. | | Fuller, Thomas |Church History of |A chronicle, with passages 1608-1661 |England, etc. |of wit or natural pathos. | | MILTON, JOHN |Areopagitica: |A poet, grave, learned, of 1608-1674 |_L’Allegro and Il |mental dignity but gifted |Penseroso_; _Comus_; |with musical power as much |_Paradise Lost_; |as Shakespeare. |_Paradise Regained_, | |_etc._ | | | Taylor, Jeremy |Holy Living, etc. |The “Shakespeare of 1613-1667 | |Divines.” Passages of rare | |poetic beauty and organ-like | |volume. | | Baxter, Richard |Saint’s Rest |One of the “Vade mecums” of 1615-1691 | |the later Puritans. Earnest | |and sincere. | | V. PERIOD OF THE RESTORATION TO THE RISE OF THE NOVEL, 1660-1740 | | BUNYAN, JOHN |Pilgrim’s Progress; |Simple, idiomatic, with pas- 1628-1688 |Holy War |sages of rare beauty. Ani- | |mated by simple, natural | |piety. A classic too much | |neglected. | | BUTLER, SAMUEL |_Hudibras_ |A rhyming jingle, destitute 1612-1680 | |of elevation but with here | |and there a witty couplet. | |Anti-Puritan throughout-- | |favorite book of Charles II. | | DRYDEN, JOHN |_Virgil Translated_; |A fine critic. The father of 1631-1700 |_St. Cecilia’s Day_, |fluent prose. Many energetic |_etc._ |lines of verse, especially | |in his satires. A man of | |fine talent but limited | |genius. | | Pepys, Samuel |Diary |His Diary, not intended to 1633-1703 | |be public, throws light on | |the life and habits of a | |capable business man of the | |18th century. | | LOCKE, JOHN |On Human Under- |A sound, practical thinker, 1632-1704 |standing; Essays; |whose works illustrate the |Thoughts on Education,|common sense and unspiritual |etc. |tone of his age. | | NEWTON, SIR ISAAC |Principia, etc. |A great mathematician, he 1642-1727 | |laid the foundation of our | |understanding of the | |mechanical structure of the | |universe. | | DEFOE, DANIEL |Robinson Crusoe |A born story-teller and 1661-1731 | |pamphleteer. | | SWIFT, JONATHAN |Tale of a Tub; |Unequalled as a satirist, 1667-1745 |Gulliver’s Travels |and writer of allegories, in | |simple, nervous, idiomatic | |English. | | STEELE, SIR |Essays (established |A good second to Addison. RICHARD |the Tatler) | 1672-1729 | | | | ADDISON, JOSEPH |Essays in The Tatler |Originator of the Social 1672-1719 |and The Spectator |essay marked by kindly, | |gentlemanlike humor in the | |urbane style. | | Berkeley, Bishop |Philosophy |A very acute thinker. 1684-1753 | |English founder of one form | |of idealism. | | Young, Edward |_Night Thoughts_ |Rather a ponderous poet, on 1683-1765 | |semi-doctrinal subjects. | | POPE, ALEXANDER |_Essays on Man_, |The model poet of his time 1688-1744 |_etc._ |and century. Used the deca- | |syllabic couplet almost ex- | |clusively, but imparted to | |it vigor, pungency and some | |variety. | | Butler, Bishop |Natural and Revealed |The orthodox moralist of his 1692-1752 |Religion |day, ponderous in style and | |commonplace in method. | | Carey, Henry |_Sally in our Alley_, |A light gift of doggerel 1700-1743 |_etc._ |satire. | | Thompson, James |_The Seasons_, _etc._ |A delicate feeling for the 1700-1748 | |quieter aspects of nature, | |harmoniously expressed. | | VI. RISE OF THE NOVEL AND PERIOD OF ROMANTICISM, 1740-1837 | | RICHARDSON, SAMUEL|Clarissa Harlowe; |Sentimentally moral, but 1689-1761 |Pamela; Sir Chas. |gifted with the story- |Grandison |telling faculty. | | FIELDING, HENRY |Tom Jones; Amelia; |Depicts life broadly and 1707-1754 |Jonathan Wild, etc. |faithfully. The first great | |realistic novelist. | | JOHNSON, SAMUEL |Dictionary; Rasselas; |A man of eighteenth century 1709-1784 |Lives of the Poets |learning and letters. The | |critical authority of his | |day. | | HUME, DAVID |History of England |The first learned historian 1711-1776 | |of England. A philosopher of | |acumen. | | Sterne, Laurence |Tristram Shandy; |A writer in whom affectation 1713-1768 |Sentimental Journey |becomes an art. Some | |pathetic passages have | |become classic. | | GRAY, THOMAS |_Elegy in Country |A scholar-poet. Production 1716-1771 |Churchyard_, _etc._ |limited, but of fine work- | |manship. | | SMOLLET, T. GEORGE|Humphrey Clinker, |Originator of the Sea-Story. 1721-1771 |Roderick Random, etc. |Inclined to vulgar coarse- | |ness. | | Akenside, Mark |_Pleasures of the |A man of scholarship and 1721-1770 |Imagination_ |culture, who wrote poetry | |without a decided gift. | | SMITH, ADAM |Wealth of Nations |The first great economist. 1723-1790 | |The moderns hardly equal to | |him in natural keenness of | |insight. | | GOLDSMITH, OLIVER |Vicar of Wakefield; |A true and graceful touch 1728-1774 |Essays; _She Stoops to|both in prose and poetry. |Conquer_; _Deserted |Makes hack-work literature. |Village_, _etc._ |Supposed to be the original | |compiler of “Mother Goose’s | |Melodies.” | | BLACKSTONE, SIR |Commentaries on Laws |Learned and careful, with WILLIAM |of England |conception of the dignity of 1723-1780 | |law. | | BURKE, EDMUND |Essays, Orations |Prose, sometimes musical and 1729-1797 | |poetical and at the same | |time, a statesman’s grasp of | |principle. | | GIBBON, EDWARD |Decline and Fall |A pains-taking and learned 1737-1794 |of Roman Empire |historian. Constructive | |powers of broad scope. | | Boswell, James |Life of Samuel Johnson|The true reporter’s instinct 1740-1795 | |for the point of a story. | |Otherwise, a toady. | | COWPER, WILLIAM |_The Task_; _John |Divests poetry of the affec- 1731-1800 |Gilpin_; _etc._ |tations of Pope. Writes on | |simple themes. | | Paley, William |Evidence of Christian-|A cognent reasoner on the 1743-1805 |ity, Natural Theology |old premises. | | More, Hannah |Coelebs in Search of a|Something of a minor poet, 1745-1833 |Wife; _Sacred Dramas_ |something of a dramatist and | |story-teller. | | SHERIDAN, RICHARD |Speeches; The Rivals; |Writer of witty dialogue and B. |School for Scandal; |constructor of telling stage 1751-1816 |Song; etc. |situations. Comedies still | |acted. | | BURNS, ROBERT |_Cotter’s Saturday |Lyrics, songs and satires in 1759-1796 |Night_, _etc._ |Scotch dialect, marked by | |music, pathos and wit. | | Edgeworth, Maria |Popular Tales, etc. |Stories of middle-class 1767-1849 | |domestic life of excellent | |moral tone and some power of | |characterization. | | WORDSWORTH, WM. |_The Excursion_; |Nature poems and descriptive 1770-1850 |_Poems_ |poems. Many fine sonnets. | |First expression of modern | |feeling for nature. | | Hogg, James |Shepherd’s Calendar; |Scotch verses. One or two 1770-1835 |_Pastorals_ |lyrics of sweetness and | |simplicity. | | Montgomery, James |_Hymns_, _Poems_ |A man universally esteemed; 1771-1854 | |best remembered now for his | |hymns of which some hundred | |are found in our Hymnals. | | SCOTT, SIR WALTER |Waverly Novels, etc.; |Originator of the historical 1771-1832 |_Lady of the Lake_, |novel. Tone natural and |_etc._ |wholesome. Secure in the | |estimation of posterity. | | Smith, Sidney |Sermons, Essays, etc. |A witty divine. Master of 1771-1845 | |the expository style. | | COLERIDGE, SAMUEL |Essays; _Rhyme of |A man of remarkable gifts, T. |Ancient Mariner_, |both intellectual and 1772-1834 |_etc._ |poetic; a natural master of | |verbal melody. | | SOUTHEY, ROBERT |Biographies of Nelson,|A man of industry and worth. 1774-1843 |Wesley; _Poems_, |Better as a prose stylist |_etc._ |than a poet. | | LAMB, CHARLES |Essays of Elia, etc. |A quaint and delicate 1775-1834 | |essayist-- friend of | |Coleridge. | | LANDOR, WALTER |Imaginary Conversa- |Classic scholar and writer. SAVAGE |tions, etc. _Count |Reactionary and old- 1775-1864 |Julian_; _Heroic |fashioned in his thought but |Idyls_, _etc._ |a remarkable stylist. | | AUSTEN, JANE |Pride and Prejudice, |Her novels depicting upper 1775-1817 |Emma, etc. |middle-class life are | |delightfully realistic and | |full of quiet life. | | PORTER, JANE |Scottish Chiefs, |Novels in an antiquated 1776-1850 |Thaddeus of Warsaw |style of exaggerated | |romance. | | CAMPBELL, THOMAS |_Pleasures of Hope_, |Something of a critic, his 1777-1844 |_Lyrics_, _etc._ |lyrics have much vigor and | |verve. | | HALLAM, HENRY |Europe during Middle |Strong, vigorous, historical 1777-1859 |Ages, Introduction to |writing from a standpoint |Literature, Constitu- |now antiquated. |tional History of | |England | | | Hazlitt, William |Table Talk, English |Critical essays; contain 1778-1830 |Poets, etc. |some true eloquence, and | |many powerful phrases. | | Moore, Thomas |Biographies; _Lalla |Songs of much melody, but of 1779-1852 |Rookh_, _Irish |an unreal sentimentality. |Melodies_, _etc._ | | | De Quincey, Thomas|Confessions of an |Passages of magnificent 1785-1859 |Opium Eater, etc. |color. A learned man, | |lacking in sound realistic | |judgment. | | Hunt, Leigh |Essays, Sketches, |A minor poet. A literateur 1784-1859 |Memoirs; _Poems_ |of appreciation rather than | |of creative power. | | Wilson, John |Noctes Ambrosiannae, |A virile man. As a writer, 1785-1854 |etc.; _Poems_ |“of his age, not for all | |time” nor indeed for an | |entire century. | | Peacock, Thos. L. |Crotchet Castle, |A literatteur, novel writer, 1785-1866 |Rododaphne, etc. |and verse writer of wit and | |epigrammatic power but no | |constructor. | | Byron, Lord |_Poems_ |Vigorous, eloquent, 1788-1824 | |sardonic, iconoclastic, | |lacking in divine sympathy. | |A great satirist, and in | |many regards a great poet. | | SHELLEY, PERCY |_Queen Mab_, |A remarkable gift of lyrical BYSSHE |_Adonais_, _The Sky |melody. Full of generous 1792-1822 |Lark_, _etc._ |impulse and the unbalanced | |judgment of youth. A genius. | | Marryat, Capt. |Peter Simple, Jacob |Boy’s stories but evincing Fred |Faithful, etc. |considerable narrative 1792-1848 | |skill. | | Hemans, Felicia |_Lyrics_ |A minor poet of grace, 1793-1835 | |sweetness and tenderness. | | GROTE, GEORGE |History of Greece |A learned and sound histori- 1794-1871 | |an, but superseded by modern | |exact research. | | Arnold, Thomas |Roman History, |A man of wide influence as 1795-1842 |Sermons, Essays |head-master of Rugby. An | |historian of the old school. | | KEATS, JOHN |_Endymion_, |A true poet, dying too young 1795-1821 |_Hyperion_, _etc._ |to reach full fruition of | |his remarkable artistic | |powers. | | Pollock, Robert |_Course of Time_ |A poet, sound, serious and 1798-1827 | |heavy; suits Scotch theo- | |logians. | | Hood, Thomas |_Poems_ |A humorous poet of the first 1798-1845 | |rank; some pathetic verses | |of high quality. | | VII. THE VICTORIAN PERIOD TO THE PRESENT, 1837- ---- | | Lover, Samuel |Handy Andy, Rory |A writer of slap-dash Irish 1797-1868 |O’More; _Songs_, |and other good stories. |_Ballads_ | | | CARLYLE, THOMAS |French Revolution, |A very great though one- 1795-1881 |Cromwell, etc. |sided man. A prose poet, an | |historian of insight and | |industry, impatient of | |shams. | | MACAULAY, THOMAS |Essays, History of |He makes history alive and B. |England; _Lays of |readable. A partisan but on 1800-1859 |Ancient Rome_ |the right side. | | James, G. P. R. |Novels (historical) |Historical novels of an an- 1801-1860 | |tiquated pattern, popular in | |their day for good reasons. | | Miller, Hugh |Old Red Sandstone, |A self-made scientific 1802-1856 |Schools and School- |geologist, who did good |masters, etc. |service in popularizing | |science. | | Praed, Winthrop |_The Vicar_; _The Red |The best writer of “Society Mackworth |Fisherman_ |Verse,” urbane, cultured, 1802-1839 | |witty. His verses are | |beautifully finished. | | Martineau, Harriet|Political Economy, |A woman of remarkably strong 1802-1876 |etc. |intellect. Her positions | |well argued but perhaps too | |radical. | | LYTTON, SIR EDWARD|Last Days of Pompeii, |A versatile and successful BULWER |Last of the Barons, |literatteur, successful in 1803-1873 |etc. |several forms of the novel, | |but pre-eminent in none. | | Disraeli, Benjamin|Lothair, Vivian Grey, |Society novels eminently 1804-1881 |etc. |readable but thoroughly | |artificial. | | MARTINEAU, JAMES |Philosophical Works, |A philosophical thinker of 1805-1900 |etc. |insight and honesty. | | MILL, JOHN STUART |Political Economy |Of thorough intellectual 1806-1873 | |honesty and diamond-clear | |intellect, he furthered the | |cause of political justice | |and personal freedom. | | Lever, Charles |Tom Burker, Charles |Irish tales full of pith and 1806-1872 |O’Malley, etc. |spirit. | | DARWIN, CHARLES |Origin of Species, |Lucid and attractive in 1809-1882 |Descent of Man |style, and an unflinching | |lover of truth; he has had a | |greater influence on thought | |than any man of his time. | | Milnes, Richard |Life and Remains of |A man of culture not without Monckton (Lord |Keats; _Poems, |distinction as a minor poet. Houghton) |legendary and |A true lover of literature. 1809-1885 |historical_ | | | FitzGerald, Edward|Euphranor, etc.; _The |The Rubaiyat is the only 1809-1883 |Rubaiyat_ |instance where a translation | |of a classic equals the | |original.--FitzGerald was | |one of the last of the | |“Letter Writers.” | | BROWNING, |_Aurora Leigh_, |A pleasing lyrical gift and ELIZABETH BARRETT |_Poems_ |warm, human sympathy made 1806-1861 | |her a favorite poetess in | |the Victorian era. | | TENNYSON, ALFRED |_In Memoriam_, _Idyls |The national poet of the 1809-1892 |of the King_ |late 19th century; a pains- | |taking artist and master of | |verbal melody. | | Kinglake, Alex. |Eothen |A brilliant historian of the William | |Crimean war. 1809-1890 | | | | Gaskell, Elizabeth|Cranford, Mary Barton,|A writer of charming quiet 1810-1865 |etc. |feminine humor. One of the | |first to make the economic | |problems the basis of a | |story. | | THACKERAY, WILLIAM|Vanity Fair, The |Satirist and humorist, but MAKEPEACE |Newcomes |with great powers of char- 1811-1863 | |acterization, especially of | |the every-day social | |elements. DICKENS, CHARLES |David Copperfield, |A broader humorist than 1812-1870 |Oliver Twist, etc. |Thackeray, appealing to the | |common human sympathies and | |the ordinary sense of the | |ridiculous. | | BROWNING, ROBERT |_Dramatic Lyrics_, |A powerful poet, intent more 1812-1889 |_Poems_, _The Ring and|on subtlety than lucidity, |the Book_ |intellectual rather than | |sympathetic. | | Reade, Charles |Peg Woffington, |A vigorous narrator, 1814-1884 |Cloister and Hearth, |animated by hatred of in- |etc. |justice. Analysis of human | |motives, superficial. | | Rawlinson, George |Five Great Monarchies |A learned Assyrian and 1815-1902 | |Oriental scholar. | | Trollope, Anthony |Barchester Towers, |Admirably realistic presen- 1815-1882 |etc. |tation of English society, | |political and ecclesiasti- | |cal. | | Froude, James |History of England |A brilliant prose writer, Anthony | |makes history human and 1818-1894 | |interesting and suggestive. | | KINGSLEY, CHARLES |Hypatia, etc.; _Poems_|His novels, in spite of 1819-1875 | |slight affectations and a | |taint of sentimentality, are | |vigorous and wholesome. | | RUSKIN, JOHN |Stones of Venice, |A great stylist. As art- 1819-1900 |Modern Painters |critic too subjective and | |governed by the moral sug- | |gestiveness of the object. | |As political economist, too | |idealistic and regardless of | |human nature. | | Bronte, Charlotte |Jane Eyre, The Profes-|Great power in her novels 1816-1855 |sor, etc. |which, however, are based on | |narrow experience. | | SPENCER, HERBERT |First Principles, etc.|Applied principle of evolu- 1820-1903 | |tion to sociology, history, | |etc. A thinker, but | |ponderous in style. | | ELIOT, GEORGE |Silas Marner, etc., |The greatest woman novelist. 1819-1880 |_Spanish Gypsy_, |A realist with insight. |_Poems_ |Powers of wit and character- | |ization; construction not | |remarkable. | | TYNDALL, JOHN |Scientific Papers |Unsurpassed as a popularizer 1820-1893 | |of Darwin’s ideas, unless it | |be by Huxley. | | ARNOLD, MATTHEW |Essays and Criticisms;|Critic and poet. Liberal in 1822-1888 |_Sohrab and Rustum_, |thought but dominated by |_etc._ |aristocratic prejudice on | |the literary side. As a | |poet, inclined to despairing | |pessimism; weak in the power | |of verbal melody. | | Muller, Max |Science of Language, |Did much to spread knowledge 1823-1900 |etc. |of the general facts and | |principles of philology and | |Oriental learning. | | FREEMAN, EDWARD A.|Histories |A conscientious, honest, 1823-1892 | |painstaking historian, | |destitute of the power to | |make his subject interesting | |except to himself. | | Hughes, Thomas |Tom Brown at Oxford, |A manly, breezy person, who 1823-1896 |etc. |wrote one good book for | |boys. | | Collins, Wilkie |Woman in White, etc. |Unsurpassed as a constructor 1824-1889 | |of plots, i. e. born story- | |teller, not misled by | |psychological analysis. | | Macdonald, George |Sir Gibbie, Alec |Wrote many novels showing 1824-1905 |Forbes, etc. |some power of writing dia- | |logue. Essentially of his | |day. | | HUXLEY, THOMAS |Man’s Place in Nature |A master of exposition and, HENRY | |with Tyndall, very effective 1825-1895 | |in presenting the idea of | |evolution. | | BLACKMORE, R. D. |Lorna Doone, etc. |Infused an element of 1825-1900 | |romance into the modern | |novel, “Lorna Doone.” | | Bagehot, Walter |Physics and Politics |Original, sound, and 1826-1877 | |striking on political and | |economic topics. | | Mulock, Dinah |John Halifax, etc. |Author of some twenty novels Naria | |of which “John Halifax” is 1826-1887 | |the best. Also of pleasing | |minor verse. | | Rossetti, Dante |_The Blessed Damozel_,|A highly imaginative poet; a Gabriel |_etc._ |master of color in verse and 1828-1882 | |on canvas. | | Oliphant, Margaret|Chronicles of |Novels of middle-class life, 1828-1897 |Carlingford, etc. |of excellent tone, full of | |quiet observation. Plots, | |slight, but hold the atten- | |tion. | | MEREDITH, GEORGE |The Egoist, Diana of |Novels of extraordinary 1828-1910 |the Crossways, etc. |power. Style epigrammatic | |and not attractive. | | McCarthy, Justin |History of our own |A prolific journalist, 1830-1912 |Times, Novels |novelist and historian of | |modern times. | | Ingelow, Jean |_Poems_, _High Tide on|A charming lyrical talent, 1820-1897 |Coast of Lincolnshire_|of limited productive power. | | Meredith, Owen |Biography of Bulwer |Fluent writer of light verse 1831-1891 |Lytton; _Lucile_ |and society verse. | | Arnold, Edwin |_Light of Asia_, |An able journalist and 1832-1904 |_Poems_ |prolific minor poet. | | Seeley, John |Ecce Homo, etc. |An able historical writer, Robert | |his “Ecce homo” had con- 1834-1895 | |siderable influence on con- | |temporary philosophies-- | |religious thought. | | MORRIS, WILLIAM |Essays on Art, etc.; |Prolific as a narrative 1834-1896 |_Poems_, _Earthly |poet, fond of classic and |Paradise_ |medieval legends. As a poet, | |more fluent than thoughtful. | | Hamerton, Philip |Intellectual Life |An excellent critic of I. | |pictorial art and inter- 1834-1894 | |preter of French life and | |character for Englishmen. | | Green, John |History of the English|Industrious and conscien- Richard |People |tious, he viewed the 1837-1883 | |“History of the English | |People” as something more | |than a record of war and | |politics. Clear and simple | |as a stylist. | | SWINEBURNE, |_Poems_ |A poet of remarkable musical ALGERNON CHAS., | |power, a master of headlong 1837-1909 | |but involved prose, a critic | |of enthusiasm and eloquence, | |caring little for principles | |or reasoned judgment. | | BRYCE, JAMES |American Commonwealth,|A writer on politics of 1838- |Holy Roman Empire |great common sense and | |statesmanlike scope. A | |trustworthy authority. | | Besant, Walter |East London, etc., |A voluminous writer of 1838-1901 |Novels |novels, his History of | |London is a real contribu- | |tion of knowledge of the | |past. | | Morley, John |English Men of Letters|A sound literary historian 1838- | |and critic and a thinker of | |force and scope. | | Pater, Walter |Marius the Epicurean, |A wonderfully finished prose Horatio |etc. |style which sometimes 1839-1891 | |diverts attention from the | |justness and beauty of the | |thought. | | Dobson, Henry |Vignettes in Rhyme, |The English Horace. An Austin |Proverbs in Porcelain |authority on eighteenth 1840- | |century social and literary | |life. Charming light verses. | | Hardy, Thomas |Tess of D’Urbeville, |Novels depicting country 1840- |etc., Novels |life. A writer of broad | |humanity. His books possess | |at once wit, realism and an | |idyllic quality. | | Black, William |In Silk Attire, etc., |His stories have consider- 1841-1898 |Novels |able charm but not much | |force. They depict Gaelic | |Scotland pleasantly but | |unconvincingly. | | Buchanan, Robert |Alone in London; |A minor poet and dramatist W. |_Poems_ |of considerable output. 1841-1901 | |Known for his mistaken | |attack on Rossetti in “The | |Fleshly School of Poetry.” | | Stevenson, Robert |Essays, Novels; |Careful and finished as a Louis |_Child’s Garden of |stylist, an excellent story- 1850-1894 |Verses_, _etc._ |teller: “Treasure Island” | |and his Scottish Tales are | |true classics. | | Zangwill, Israel |Novels, Dramas, Essays|As Jew, an exponent of the 1864- | |Zionistic movement. Success- | |ful in the essay and | |especially in the novels | |depicting Jewish scenes and | |characters. | | Kipling, Rudyard |Stories, Novels, |A vigorous, audacious, effi- 1865- |_Poems_ |cient writer. The most | |original genius among | |English literary men of | |today. | | Phillips, Stephen |_Ulysses_, _Paolo and |A writer of lyric tragedies 1868- |Francesca_ |in blank verse, akin in | |spirit to to the French | |classic drama. | | ------------------+----------------------+----------------------------