Part 63

1s. 6d. Railway Library. Large Edition, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.

The typical intentions are with admirable art kept so far subordinate to the story, that we always feel ourselves in the company of living agents; and it is only when our interest in the events of the tale and the destinies of its leading characters is fully satisfied, that we pause to look back at the secret philosophy that pervades the narrative, and become sensible of the wisdom we have acquired in the pleasure we have received.

Night and Morning.

1s. 6d. Railway Library. Large Edition, cloth gilt, 4s.

“NIGHT AND MORNING” is the most generally popular of the author’s works; its materials are of a homelier and coarser kind than many of them; but their texture is strong and their hues brilliant. And in proportion as the work dispenses with the more reflective beauties that distinguish “MALTRAVERS,” it gains as an animated and powerful story of human life.

The Pilgrims of the Rhine.

1s. Railway Library. Large Edition, cloth gilt, 2s. 6d.

The loveliest and most fanciful of this varied catalogue of fiction. It gathers together, as into a garland of flowers, the associations, the history, the legends, the romance of the Rhine. Nothing like it, for the comprehension of the poetical aspects of places hallowed by tradition, exists in our language; and its originality is so toned down into familiar sweetness, that it is scarcely detected till we search for some work with which to compare it, and--find none.

Last of the Barons.

2s. Railway Library. Large Edition, cloth gilt, 5s.

The chief attraction of the book is in the brilliant gallery of contemporary portraits--Edward IV.; Henry VI.; the grand, affectionate, wayward, fiery King Maker, the accomplished, able, inconstant Hastings; the portentous youth of Richard of Gloucester, learned and witty, dauntless and aspiring.

Godolphin.

1s. 6d. (December 1st.) Large Edition, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.

“GODOLPHIN” has less vigour and less profundity than the best of the writer’s fictions, but it has an exquisite grace of sentiment and a singular fascination of style. It contains, perhaps, too, on the whole, the most accurate of all Bulwer’s representations of that cold and glittering surface of society which the French entitle the _beau monde_.

Disowned.

1s. 6d. (1855). Large Edition, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.

The “DISOWNED,” with a more defective narrative and less sparkling diction, gives glimpses of a much loftier tone of mind, of greater capacities for pathos, of grander ideals of human character and the nobler aims of human life. Perhaps a finer picture of the Christian Stoic than is given to us in the effigies of the principal hero in the “DISOWNED,” Algernon Mordaunt, is not to be found in prose fiction.

Devereux.

1s. 6d. (1855). Large Edition, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.

The mystery that pervades the plot is admirably sustained, and is derived, not from the inferior sources of external incident, but the complicated secrets of the human heart.

Zanoni.

1s. 6d. (1855). Large edition, cloth gilt, 3s. 6d.

“ZANONI” is perhaps less liked by the many than the generality of its companions, but it has especial admirers, who rank it above them all. Independently of the depth and richness of its less visible poetry and wisdom, it contains passages of tenderness and power, of wild fancy and sombre grandeur, that irresistibly chain the more imaginative class of readers.

Leila; or, the Siege of Granada.

Calderon; or, the Courtier.

1s. (1855). Large edition, cloth gilt, 2s.

Both these must be regarded as bold and rapid sketches, by a master-hand, rather than elaborate and finished performances of careful art.

Harold.

1s. 6d. (1855). Large edition, cloth gilt, 4s.

So truly national is this work in its spirit, and so replete with interest and value is the information it contains, whether of manners, customs, the origin of various races that people our island, the causes of political events that, however remote, have bequeathed influences which rule us at this day, that the careful perusal of “HAROLD” becomes almost the duty of every well-instructed Englishman.

Lucretia.

1s. 6d. (1855). Large edition, cloth gilt, 4s.

“LUCRETIA; or, THE CHILDREN OF NIGHT,” rather errs from the over-exertion of strength. The vigour of its descriptions is not sufficiently restrained by art, and carries terror too far into the regions of pain.

The Caxtons.

(1855). Large edition, cloth gilt, 4s.

The moral bequeathed by the Caxton Family has received universal approbation. It runs broadly and healthfully along the whole composition, sporting with us by the way, and leaving us happier and better at the close.

My Novel.

(1855). 2 vols, large edition, cloth gilt, 8s.

It is from its immense breadth of comprehension, its mature repose of thought, its felicitous selection of the results of a most diversified experience, that “MY NOVEL” is indeed _par emphasis_ entitled to the name it assumes; and if not the loftiest of Bulwer’s works is certainly his completest novel.

G. ROUTLEDGE & CO., 2, FARRINGDON STREET.

Transcriber’s Notes

Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they were not changed.

Unusual grammatical constructions and ambiguous inconsistencies were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left unbalanced.

In the List of Sieges, the entry “Thebes, Palestine” does not correspond to anything the Transcriber could find in the rest of the text.

The List of Sieges references one set of sieges for Antwerp, but there are two chapters for that city. Transcriber modified the List so that it references both of them.

No “SECOND SIEGE” is listed for Tyre, but there is a “THIRD SIEGE”.

Page 93: “Skins and sails were then had recourse to screen them” was printed that way.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Great Sieges of History, by William Robson