Novel 135: William Gilbert, De Profundis (1864)

 
Evelyn De Morgan, Hope in the Prison of Despair

Evelyn De Morgan, Hope in the Prison of Despair

 

An honest couple do the best they can amid the squalor and vice of the slums.

William Gilbert (1804-1890), father of W.S. Gilbert (of Gilbert & Sullivan), wrote some twelve novels, many, like this one, about the London poor, whose miseries are narrated in a breezy, unsentimental tone, with much wry humor.

“In this story Mr. Gilbert never introduces ‘high life,’ nor people of the better class.  He reveals the mysteries of ‘London labour and the London poor’ in a low metropolitan neighbourhood, and all through the book we get no distinct peeps at any higher social condition.  To interest the general reader in such revelations requires great skill, pathos, and power.  Mr. Gilbert commands them all, and combines with them, in his writing, a deep, true knowledge of human motive and action. . . .  That Mr. Gilbert is a true artist we cannot but admit, for out of the simplest details of low life he produces characters whose very vividness enchains the attention.  He is amongst novelists a realist.  Neither imagination nor caricature influences his portraiture.  Men, women, and children are precisely what he sees them to be, and his vision is correct, his judgment true.” Manchester Guardian, February 28, 1865

“‘De Profundis’ is an excellently written, unvarnished narrative. . . .  The style well becomes the subject—plain, earnest, unaffected, and with an admirable quaint simplicity of language in relating the most heart-rending details, which is more effective than the most studied artificial effects, as it is perhaps more rarely attained to. . . . We have never read a story of humble life so well and unaffectedly told as this, and we recommend it as a wholesome contrast to the pictures of vulgar splendour and luxury under which our tables groan.” Westminster Review, April, 1865

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Novel 134: Eliza Lynn Linton, My Love! (1881)

 
Henry Nelson O’Neil, Painting con Amore

Henry Nelson O’Neil, Painting con Amore

 

A vain amateur artist-poet and an ill-tempered old lady oppress their young adult children.

Here is another novel by Linton (see Novel 044), with some especially entertaining minor characters, such as the thoroughly modern girl twins Gip and Pip.

“In ‘My Love!’ Mrs. Lynn Linton has devoted herself with much success to the portraiture of some of the baser passions, such as selfishness, meanness, hypocrisy, and ill temper.”  She “is brilliantly clever from first to last, and . . . there is not a dull page in her novel, though there are many that are disagreeable.  She writes brightly, vigorously, and eloquently; she is uncommonly painstaking and earnest; her dialogue is always apt and pointed; and many of her personages . . . are of singular merit and interest.  ‘My Love!’ in fact, is an unusually able and impressive book, its unattractive purpose notwithstanding.” Athenaeum, July 9, 1881

“My Love is a readable and amusing love story. . . .  It is a tale of love, pure and simple, although the three or more love affairs which run parallel to each other are illustrated or encumbered by a multiplicity of episodes; while a great variety of characters, vigorously sketched, are brought together into active and energetic collaboration.  Mrs. Lynn Linton generally inclines to the grave; but in this novel she is often humorous, and sometimes sprightly, or even comic. . . . Altogether Mrs. Lynn Linton has written an agreeable story; and it is agreeable chiefly because . . . she has always taken some pains to show the more amiable side of her least amiable characters.” Saturday Review, August 13, 1881

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Novel 133: F.F. Montrésor, The Alien (1901)

 
John Atkinson Grimshaw, A Wet Road by Moonlight, Wharfedale

John Atkinson Grimshaw, A Wet Road by Moonlight, Wharfedale

 

A mysterious man is claimed by an old woman as the son and heir who died thirty years before.

Frances Frederica Montrésor (1862-1934) wrote a dozen or so novels between 1895 and 1907.  This one has interestingly conflicted characters and (except for an incongruous South American episode) a good plot.

“Cleverly thought out, and full of sympathy and observance, it is a book suited to all kinds and sorts of people. The interest . . . is never allowed to flag, while the quality of its character drawing gives it a delicate atmospheric beauty by no means common.” Academy, November 9, 1901

This “adds to the sincerity, simplicity, and insight marking her other stories a larger motive and a stronger grasp. . . . There is a touch of Mrs. Oliphant in the quiet humor, in the detached view and appraisement of ‘the human,’ and in the enduring consciousness of eternal goodness.” New York Times, December 7, 1901

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Novel 132: Alice Price, A Wilful Young Woman (1886)

 
George Elgar Hicks, Woman's Mission - Companion of Manhood

George Elgar Hicks, Woman’s Mission - Companion of Manhood

 

The virtuous daughter of a country lawyer is scorned by her selfish, worldly mother.

Here is another novel by Alice Price (see Novel 021), much like its predecessor in its engrossing but implausible plot and its well-defined characters.

“A very readable story. . . .  Mrs. Price has drawn her dramatis personae with some power and vigour, and nobody could possibly find this novel tedious.” Academy, November 20, 1886

“This is an excellent tale, and shows by a conspicuous example, which some of our lady-novelists might profitably note, that it is quite possible to rouse a strong interest in a love-story without even an allusion to unlawful passion. . . .  There are, we think, defects in the plot. . . .   But, on the whole, for sound sense, good feeling and taste, and a style which can be both pathetic and humorous on occasion, this is a book which cannot easily be surpassed.” Spectator, January 29, 1887

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v.1 https://archive.org/details/wilfulyoungwoman01pric/

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Novel 131: Anonymous, Hanworth (1858)

 
Heywood Hardy, The Meeting in the Forest

Heywood Hardy, The Meeting in the Forest

 

A young lady loves a nobleman, whose interest in her friend she misinterprets.

The author of this forgotten novel is identified neither in Fraser’s Magazine, where it was serialized, nor in its separate publication as a book—a pity, because it’s a good one.

“One of the best photographs of English society as it now exists.” Illustrated Times, October 9, 1858

“It is a pleasant story of society, written with good taste and unquestionable skill.” Examiner, December 25, 1858

“Unobjectionable pleasantness is a quality which carries books, as it does human beings, quietly and happily through the world, but it does not give room for much discussion. . . .  The girls are like real girls, but there is nothing marked about them.  The nobleman, who is a high-minded love-creating coquet, is not an impossibility.  There is no clever writing, no description of scenery, no boring of any sort. . . .  From beginning to end the story goes on quietly, evenly, and agreeably, showing a considerable power of observing family life, a subdued sense of the ludicrous, and an unusual turn for writing intelligible and consecutive English.” Saturday Review, January 1, 1859

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Novel 130: Robert Buchanan, Foxglove Manor (1884)

 
John Roddam Spencer Stanhope, The Temptation of Eve

John Roddam Spencer Stanhope, The Temptation of Eve

 

A charismatic clergyman loves an agnostic squire’s wife.

Well known also as a poet, playwright, and critic, Robert Buchanan (1841-1901) published nearly 30 works of fiction, mostly in the last twenty years of the century. Despite some very silly plot twists at the end, this one provides a convincing portrait of self-deception and depravity.

“A very powerful study.  Mr. Buchanan has firmly grasped the character of a man of a sensuous and even refined imagination, but without moral fibre. . . . He has drawn the central figure with consummate skill, and told his story with great vigour, directness, and rapidity of narration.” Athenaeum, September 13, 1884

“As a study of morbid anatomy it reaches the highest level to which work of that kind can possibly attain.  From a dramatic point of view there is genius” in the handling of our reaction to the main character. Graphic, October 4, 1884

“It touches on that mysterious region in which the love of men to God is seen to have a deep and hidden connection with the mutual love of man and woman; and if we cannot pay it what would be the immense tribute of saying that it deals adequately with such a subject, we may at least declare that the attempt is marked by power and by a profound pathos, and associated with nothing unworthy.” Contemporary Review, 1884

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v.1 https://archive.org/details/foxglovemanornov01buchuoft/

v.2 https://archive.org/details/foxglovemanornov02buchuoft

v.3 https://archive.org/details/foxglovemanornov03buchuoft

Novel 126: Ellen Pickering, The Quiet Husband (1840)

 
Thomas Phillips, William Blathwayt IV and His Wife, Frances Scott

Thomas Phillips, William Blathwayt IV and His Wife, Frances Scott

 

A virtuous young lady, raised in luxury but suddenly orphaned and poor, is taken in by her mother’s former lover.

Ellen Pickering (1802-1843) wrote some sixteen novels before her early death.  If you don’t allow yourself to be annoyed by the plot here (especially the tediously mysterious lovers’ misunderstanding), you’ll enjoy the various carefully developed characters placed in striking situations.

“The quick eye and clear intellect to observe, and the ready pen to convey to others in a pleasant manner the impressions received, are the gifts of which Miss Pickering makes such good use.” Literary Gazette, June 6, 1840

“While we object to the story as being rather too improbable, to the dénouement as occurring merely at the author’s arbitrary pleasure, . . . we . . . pronounce the story . . . to be one that rivets the attention; serving also as the vehicle of numberless happy sketches as well as pointed and telling truths.  The lady has an admirable knack at dove-tailing just reflections in the progress of the narrative, and perhaps still more artlessly, to appearance, in the course of close and rapid dialogue.  With what a keen eye does she mark, if not a very wide world of life, at least distinct and important segments in its circle! with what a delicate hand does she delineate character!” Monthly Review, July, 1840

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Novel 125: Theo Gift, An Innocent Maiden (1883)

 
James Charles, Study of a Girl in White

James Charles, Study of a Girl in White

 

A murder places an innocent girl in a difficult dilemma.

For Theo Gift, see Novel 015.  In this brief novel, the characters, though mostly types, are compelling, and the plot is deftly handled.

Gift’s “idea of an innocent English girl is much more complex and natural than the mere selfish, silly chit who plays the ingénue in most novels. . . . Both the men are very well drawn. . . .  There is nothing depressing in this very pretty, refined, and carefully written book.” Academy, March 1, 1884

“Theo Gift’s last heroine is a very charming little maiden indeed, whose story may be recommended for its purity of tone and unaffected style.  Nor does it want a fairly constructed plot. . . .  Theo Gift always seems in kindly sympathy with the people of whom she writes.” Morning Post, March 13, 1884.


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Novel 124: Anthony Hope, Mr. Witt's Widow (1892)

 
William Powell Frith, Mary, Queen of Scots Bidding Farewell to France

William Powell Frith, Mary, Queen of Scots Bidding Farewell to France

 

A man suspects that his cousin’s fiancée, a rich young widow, might once have been a thief.

Anthony Hope (Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, 1863-1933), best remembered for The Prisoner of Zenda (1894), wrote thirty-some other novels, beginning in 1890; this is a delightful social comedy, well paced and smartly phrased.

“All the characters are neatly sketched, and Mr. Hope’s dialogue is crisp and pointed.  Altogether, this lively and piquant story is good reading.” Saturday Review, May 7, 1892

“The story is good both in conception and in execution.  The style is just suited to the subject.” Spectator, June 11, 1892

“The development and denouement afford rich material for a first-class society comedy, and at the same time the story is clever and exceedingly enjoyable.” San Francisco Chronicle, October 30, 1892

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Novel 123: Isabella Neil Harwood, Raymond's Heroine (1867)

 
George Hayter, The Honourable Mrs. William Ashley

George Hayter, The Honourable Mrs. William Ashley

 

After her father is ruined by an absconding financier, a girl is adopted by her rich aunt.

Isabella Neil Harwood (1837-1888) wrote five novels in six years (1864-1870) before turning to drama.  This, her third novel, has a good plot with surprising turns and some complex characters.

“Domestic life has its depths, as well as its shallows; and the dreadful significance and mystery of life is that none of us know how noble or how vile we may be. To detect this secret strength of mere humanity is a great merit, and one possessed in a high degree by the book now before us.” Saturday Review, April 13, 1867

A “substantially good novel. Home and the world are its theme, but they are treated in no threadbare sentimental fashion. . . . The story . . . is original and well-constructed. . . . The development of character . . . is natural although artistic. . . . The dialogue is natural, and its narrative always well written.” Examiner, April 13, 1867

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Novel 122: Richard Pryce, The Quiet Mrs. Fleming (1890)

 
James Jacques Joseph Tissot, Seaside

James Jacques Joseph Tissot, Seaside

 

A beautiful and mysterious woman takes winter lodgings in a seaside resort town.

Richard Pryce (1864-1942) wrote 21 novels between 1887 and 1911; this one is a quiet mystery story with carefully developed characters and setting.

The story is “ingeniously told from the outside.  The reader is led round about the centre of interest, but never holds any intercourse with the principal actors.” Manchester Guardian, February 17, 1891

“The story is not too long to be read at a sitting, and it is too interesting to be laid down by any one who gets beyond the first page.” Academy, March 28, 1891

“Mr. Richard Pryce’s story is told with much quiet humour, and with admirable self-restraint”; unlike the plot, the characters are “far from commonplace” and there is “not one line of padding or a dull page in the book.” Murray’s Magazine, May, 1891

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Novel 121: L.B. Walford, Troublesome Daughters (1880)

 
George Dunlop Leslie, The Daughters of Eve

George Dunlop Leslie, The Daughters of Eve

 

A man falls in love with a mysterious girl on a Scottish farm.

Here is another fine novel by Walford (see Novels 018 and 066):  the particularly amusing characters counterbalance the particularly implausible plot (based on an impossible psycho-medical catastrophe and an outrageously idiotic lovers’ misunderstanding).

“If the story of ‘Troublesome Daughters’ were at all equal in merit to the author’s delineation of character, the book would be one of the best as well as one of the most charming published of late.” Athenaeum, July 24, 1880

“A fresher, prettier, more unpretentious little story than ‘Troublesome Daughters’ is not to be found, and Mrs. Walford deserves cordial recognition of the growing strength of her hand.” New York Tribune, August 1, 1880

“There is plenty of incident and bright conversation in Troublesome Daughters, and the story is interesting enough to bear reading aloud, which in itself is no slight praise.” Literary World, August 28, 1880

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v.1 https://archive.org/details/troublesomedaugh01walf/

v.2 https://archive.org/details/troublesomedaugh02walf/

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Novel 118: Catherine Gore, Preferment (1839)

 
George Frederick Watts, Reverend A. Wellsted

George Frederick Watts, Reverend A. Wellsted

 

The ambitious younger son of an earl’s younger son struggles to make his way in the world.

Here is another novel by Gore (see Novels 012, 072), in which that great writer deploys her witty style to develop another well constructed plot and another set of memorably vivid characters.

“Mrs. Gore is an expert and long practised delineator of aristocratic and courtly life. . . .  aristocratic manners, political intrigues, roués, cold-hearted, eccentric, vain, and silly personages of title, are sure to engage her pencil, which is often keen and satirical.” Monthly Review, December, 1839

“We might point to at least a dozen entire scenes of this novel which are equal in the terseness of their satiric wit, the rich play of their humour, and the characteristic truth of their personal delineations, to those of . . . the best modern comedies.” New Monthly Magazine, December, 1839

“We could bet against odds that Mrs. Gore could not write a dull book if she got the Bank of England for her trouble. . . .  Wit, satire which tickles rather than wounds, and a charming facility in depicting a foible, a peculiarity, or an individualizing quality, by a single trait—one stroke of the pen, one happy epithet.” Tait’s Edinburgh Magazine, January, 1840

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v.1 https://archive.org/details/prefermentormyun01gore
v.2 https://archive.org/details/prefermentormyun02gore
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Novel 117: James Maclaren Cobban, The Golden Tooth (1901)

 
Edward Robert Hughes - A First Visit to the Dentist

Edward Robert Hughes - A First Visit to the Dentist

 

A young farmer is wrongly accused of murdering the local squire; a mysterious man steps in to help.

James Maclaren Cobban (1849-1903) wrote some 25 novels in various genres, beginning in 1879.  This is one of at least three murder mysteries featuring a mustachioed amateur sleuth named Townshend.  The plot is excellent, the style good, the characters vivid if simple.

Cobban’s “qualities of literary art and insight into human nature give a relieving touch to the ordinary mechanism of this class of novel.” Manchester Guardian, February 27, 1901

“An excellent and ingeniously constructed tale” treated with “briskness, humour, and unconventionality.” Spectator, April 27, 1901

A “detective story with all the usual impossible incidents, hairbreadth escapes, and wonderful dovetailings.” New York Times, August 19, 1901

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Cobban, The Golden Tooth (1901)