# Moods (Alcott)/Adverts

FAITH GARTNEY'S GIRLHOOD,
By the Author of "The Gayworthys," "Boys at Chequasset"
1 vol., 12mo. Elegant fancy cloth. Price $1.75.
This charming story fills a void long felt for something for a young girl, growing into womanhood, to read.
It depicts that bewitching period in life, lying between fourteen and twenty, with its noble aspirations, and fresh enthusiasms. It is written by a very accomplished lady, and is "the best book ever written for girls."
A lady of rare culture says,—
"'Faith Gartney's Girlhood,' is a noble, good work, that could only have been accomplished by an elevated mind united to a chaste, tender heart. From the first page to the last, the impression is received of a life which has been lived; the characters are genuine, well drawn, skilfully presented; they are received at once with kind, friendly greeting, and followed with interest, till the last page compels a reluctant farewell.
"'The book is written for girls, growing as they grow to womanhood.' The story has an interest, far beyond that found in modern romances of the day, conveyed in pure, refined language; suggestive, pleasing thoughts are unfolded on every page; the reflective and descriptive passages are natural, simple, and exquisitely finished.
"In these days, when the tendency of society is to educate girls for heartless, aimless, factitious life, a book like this is to be welcomed and gratefully received. Wherever it is read, it will be retained as a thoughtful, suggestive—if silent—friend."
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MAINSTONE'S HOUSEKEEPER.
By Miss Eliza Meteyard (Silverpen).
1 vol., 12mo. Elegant fancy cloth. Price $1.50.
Douglas Jerrold gave this distinguished English authoress this "nom de plume," and her style has the point, brightness, and delicacy which it suggests.—This is not a cook book as the title might mislead some to suppose, but a fresh, vigorous, powerful story of English country life, full of exquisite pictures of rural scenery, with a plot which is managed with great skill, and a surprise kept constantly ahead so that from the opening to the close the interest never flags. There is life in every page and a fresh, delicate, hearty sentiment pervades the book that exhilarates and charms indescribably.
The heroine—Charlotte the housekeeper—is one of the finest characters ever drawn, and merits unqualified commendation.
As a whole, for beauty of style and diction, passionate earnestness, effective contrasts, distinctness of plot, unity, and completeness, this novel is without a rival. It is a "midnight darling" that Charles Lamb would have exulted in, and perhaps the best as yet produced from a woman's pen.
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SIMPLICITY AND FASCINATION.
BY ANNE BEALE.
1 vol., 12mo. Elegant fancy cloth. Price $1.50.
It is not often that such a sound and yet readable English novel is republished in America.
The due mean between flashiness and dulness is hard to be attained, but we have it here.
There is neither a prosy page nor a sensational chapter in it.
It is a nice book for a clean hearth and an easy chair.
It is a natural, healthy book, written by a living person, about people of flesh and blood, who might have been our neighbors, and of events, which might happen to anybody. This is a great charm in a novel. This leaves a clean taste in the mouth, and a delicious memory of the feast.
The tone of it is high and true, without being obtrusively good. Such a book is as great a relief amid the sensational stories of the day, as a quiet little bit of "still life" is to the eye, after being blinded by the glaring colors of the French school.
This novel reproduces that exquisite tone or flavor so hard to express which permeates true English country life, and gives to it a peculiar charm unlike any other, which one having once seen and felt, lives as it were under a spell, and would never willingly allow to fade from their memory.
Too much cannot be said in praise of Simplicity and Fascination.
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PIQUE:
A Tale of the English Aristocracy.
1 vol., 12mo. Elegant fancy cloth. Price $1.50.
Three thousand eight hundred and seventy-six new books were published in England this last year, which is about the average number of past years.
Thirteen years ago Pique was first published in London, and up to the present time, notwithstanding the enormous number of new books issued, the effect of which is to crowd the old ones out of sight, this remarkable novel has continued to have a large sale.
This is the strongest praise that can be bestowed on any book. It is not in the least "sensational," but relies solely on its rare beauty of style and truthfulness to nature for its popularity.
It has the merit of being amusing, pleasantly written, and engrossing.
The characters being high-bred men and women, are charming companions for an hour's solitude, and one puts the book aside regretfully, even as one closes the eyes on a delicious vision. The American edition has taken every one by surprise, that so remarkably good a novel should have so long escaped attention.
Every body is charmed with it, and its sale will continue for years to come.
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THE GAYWORTHYS.
By the author of "Faith Gartney's Girlhood," "Boys at Chequasset."
American ladies and gentlemen travelling in England, are amazed and delighted to find "an American Novel" welcomed with such warmth and enthusiasm, by the "cultivated" and "influential," in all parts of the Kingdom.
No American book since "Uncle Tom," is so universally known, read, and talked about.
The London journals, without exception, have given it a cordial welcome. Read what they say of it:—
"We wish to write our most appreciative word of this admirable and unexceptional book. We feel while we read it that a new master of fiction has arisen. . . . We can well afford to wait a few years now, if at the end we are to receive from the same pen a work of such a character and mark as "The Gayworthys."
—Eclectic Journal.
"It is impossible not to welcome so genial a gift. Nothing so complete and delicately beautiful has come to England from America since Hawthorne's death, and there is more of America in 'The Gayworthys' than in 'The Scarlet Letter,' or 'The House with Seven Gables.' . . . We know not where so much tender feeling and wholesome thought are to be found together as in this history of the fortunes of the Gayworthys."—Reader.
"'The Gayworthys' comes to us very seasonably, for it belongs to a class of novels wanted more and more every day, yet daily growing scarcer. We have therefore, a warmer welcome for the book before us as being a particularly favorable specimen of its class. Without the exciting strength of wine, it offers to feverish lips all the grateful coolness of the unfermented grape."
—Pall Mall Gazette.
"We have no misgivings in promising our readers a rich treat in 'The Gayworthys.' . . . 'The Gayworthys' will become a great favorite."
—Nonconformist.
". . . The book is crowded with epigrams as incisive as this, yet incisive without malice or bitterness, cutting not so much from the sharpness of the thought as from its weight. There is deep kindliness in the following passage, as well as deep insight. . . . . The tone of the story, the curious sense of peace and kindliness which it produces, comes out well in that extract, and the reader quits it, feeling as he would have felt had he been gazing half an hour on that scene—with more confidence alike in nature and humanity, less care for the noisy rush of city life, and yet withal less fear of it."—Spectator.
"It is a pleasant book and will make for the producer friends."
—Saturday Review.
"We venture to say no one who begins the book will leave it unfinished, or will deny that great additions have been made to his circle of acquaintance. He has been introduced to a New England village, and made acquainted with most of the leading villagers in a way which leaves the impression on him thenceforward that he knows them personally, that their fortunes and failures, and achievements, and misunderstandings are matters of interest to him, that he would like to know how Gershom Vose got on with his farm, and if Joanna Gair's marriage turned out happily, and if 'Say' Gair was as interesting as a farmer's wife as she has been as a little child."
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MARGARET AND HER BRIDESMAIDS.
By the Author of "The Queen of the County."
1 vol., 12mo. Elegant fancy cloth. Price $1.50.
This fascinating story of "Six School Girls" is as charming a story as has been written for young ladies. The talented author has a great reputation in England, and all her books are widely circulated and read.
"Faith Gartney's Girlhood" and "Margaret and her Bridesmaids" should stand side by side in every young lady's book-case. Read what the London Athenæum, the highest literary authority, says of it: "We may save ourselves the trouble of giving any lengthened review of this book, for we recommend all who are in search of a fascinating novel to read it for themselves. They will find it well worth their while. There is a freshness and originality about it quite charming, and there is a certain nobleness in the treatment, both of sentiment and incident, which is not often found. We imagine that few can read it without deriving some comfort or profit from the quiet good sense and unobtrusive words of counsel with which it abounds."
The story is very interesting. It is the history of six school-fellows. Margaret, the heroine, is, of course, a woman in the highest state of perfection. But Lotty—the little, wilful, wild, fascinating, brave Lotty—is the gem of the book, and, as far as our experience in novel reading goes, is an entirely original character—a creation—and a very charming one. No story that occurs to our memory contains more interest than this for novel readers, particularly those of the tender sex, to whom it will be a dear favorite.
We hope the authoress will give us some more novels, as good as "Margaret and her Bridesmaids."