The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-03-05
NOVELS AND NOvEL1srs.

NOVELS AND NOvEL1sTs.
Poetry and fiction etymologically signify th
"mon Is created or made [by the fancy1. in co,
1s i"sSlncelon to narrative Of what is historical
Irue' or description Of objects taken from natur
D - sne feV1ew or recent work of fiction, wc ha
. oeaeon 90 protest against the increasing tondenc
s ~ q oa!o' commonplace realism, in the writing
ne ,emaie noveists Of the day; and NOR
spec1aAy SO IN the American species Of tho genus
MISS JANE AusrEN's novels,-sePride and Preiu
, uee, Emma, !" ssense and Sensibility (" etc hay
= oeen so long and so extravagantly praised by th,
cf1tlcs OF three successive generations, and hcl,
n up Us MODELS, Tor pictures of character for dia
iosue' as well as for the general menage of th,
, stor1es' that we can scarcely wonder that sh,
snouid have had hosts Of imitators. 1t seems, O.
I'LL patterns, the most easy to copy. 4
Ihere have been attempts at writing JAsf
Lyrics, E9HEs, sH1R1sYs, and ADAM BEnEs; but few Of the
fair adventurers in the field of fiction hive the
; ; courage to attempt such soaring flights more
knowledge Of English is insufficient even tboneb
they were competent to criticise the redoubtab1e
oEohaE WASHINGTON Moon, who dissected the
Ineusn OF DEAN Afford, who himself had written
o1ssertaelon On the Queens English. A thorough
command OF our mother tongue, however and :
cnaste, easy diction are not to be despised Alov1
cage OF NE and society also very important nd
1uVants 10 the novelist nay, they may be consid-
e1eu postolates but OF themselves they do not
.onssisuse an adequate qualification to master of
5ne are Learning, the knowledge of sciences and
| OF Languages, OF history and philosophy. NAV ha
useful aids, though Of this we are somewhat donbt.
tul. An encyclopaedia, the ona7i sci6ae of hnman
learning, is quite different thing from a readable
WORK or fiction; indeed the two are seldom rnoro
| than tangents to each other. Wit and hnmor
| 1nougn 50 often moderated by the lady nove1ists
OF tne Day IN our opinion constitute an i1nnortant
requisite IN the modern novel but in themselves
also are insufficient - -
Ane Close observer of inaninate uatr1re the
Possessor OF rare faculty, y,-has a.wealth or re-
eouiee WHICH, II properly used, lends one Of the
eteae9se charms TO q work of fiction. But WORDS
WoKTH'- perhaps, the greatest Of modern 1nastors
OF this ar, never wrote novel, and from what va
know OF bis writings, we have reason to infer +ho+
ne "ouid not have met with distinguished succesa
nau ne assayed Q creative work OF this kind ).
~, tue several qualifications above enumerated
ano many more are all needed for the a1n.auaento-
aans OF the great novelist Of the present av Ri
something more besides is requisite Thera ,r,zt
. De imagination TO create, and fancy to enbellah.a
ene masters hand to bestow strength and v;por
ana the Light Of genius to Aindle a fame 81
beauty. AA1'41e "
n We know that our STANDARD is ,ipb and - - -.
few come up to such measure Of excallanca rt;s 80
az important however, now that the novel is FAST
becoming the universal text book that se,;on,s ,,
ratlo1, more than heretofore, should be given
70 IN improvement, both moral and inte1lec+,,ol F
this branch Of letters: . =
Inc great majority read for amusement some
lew for instruction The chief for the
read1ng world, therefore, is something that vii
sa1sty Doth these demands; and the novel processes
~ - 20 1nis-hence the wide popularity enioyod bv
snls speclea:of literature: History, travels. bioe
neFa1s' works oniscience philosophy, in
ess = yore' were considered the proper pabulum
ZOE tne nasoent intellect, and systematic inatr7,c
lion IN these several branches Of khoRledoe daarss
30 CT the first importance Works of f;ctior n
under the ban parental magisterial and ecclesias,
!le; romance could only beread by the sentimen-
~ boarding school miss with locked doors 4and
'.nsans conscience. But those were the days of
40 !oeylsm. Universal emancipation is the watch
Vord now. We have Story books for tha b,ba ~
ne cradle-not your nursery tales about a1ct.,a,.
Eoung America would not brook such an insult to
lis understanding. Mo- there are regular stories,
With plotso and all for children Of every age and
he whole curriculum Of art, literature, science
md philosophy is to be- taught-we beg pardon,
hat is not the word insinuated, by these pleasing
;reations Of the fancy. Who again shall say That
here is no royal road to learning the path Of
is not strewn with flowers?
That an evil Like this must bring it's own cor
:ecGve, is, in measure, true; and the wide-felt
demand for reading Of this kind has developed It
most brilliant array OF talent such as, we fear
;an be marshalled by other branch of literature.
In Germany FREITAa, AuERBAcH, NIERr1z, GER !
3rEKER and SPELHAGEN, at the head Of their
raft, have their pre-eminence called in question
oy host of lesser lights. LAMARTnE,,s ssVIcroR
HUGO, DUMAS, and GEoRaE SAND are the Grand
Of France, looked up to and initiated by
thousands Of lNera1e,rs and feuil1etonists less ]
nown to fame. Russia, Sweden, Hungary and
Denmark, Italy and Spain all now have their reeu-
ar writer's ofdcton.
But England thus far has held the pre- -eminence
N this department of benes-iettras.' sP1NpLER,
HAUFF, CAROLINE P1oH1ER, and LOUISA MuH-
BACH have written many historical novels, and
some among them master pieces Of creative art;
but all OF these are more or less imitators of the
Great Wizard of the Morrill, the pioneer of the His
torical Romance. WALTER SoorT. is; the canon by
which their excellence is measured. FIELDING,
sstoIlErF, R1cHARDsoH, Go1psss1fH, Madame
pARBIAX and Mrs. RADc1IFFE, each opened new
vein in this rich mine years before fiction had at
tained to the dignity Of fine art any ott er coun
try; and, although fashion, manners, and taste have
changed much since then, their works are still
read, and to this day stand unequaned in the
points inSw1ich they severaIly excel Tom Jones,
Humphrey C1inker.; SIR Challes Grandson, Dr. I
Primrose, Evelina, and the Mysteries Of Udolpho,
are Universally acknowledged as guide posts il the
history Of life and manners in Great Britain dur
ing the past century. 81
JANE AUSTEN, Miss EnoEwoRrH, BuLwER, D1GK-
EMS, THAtKERAY, CHARLOTTE BaonrE, and GEORGE
ELIOT, these may Be set down as the great mas
ters who |have brought 10 perfection the modern
novel. : They are widely read, and hsve contribu-
ted more in giving true Representations Of men
and things in England during the past fifty years,
than has been derived from the sum total Of al the
labors Of all the other eotemporary writer's. We
have singled out these az being. the foremost and
the best. There are others equally nobjectiona,-
BILE, but as they are all more or less modelled upon
those already named, they need not be specially
enumerated here. #.5 5s54
Unfortunately, however, there are many who
possess either not sufficient intelligence or cuti-
vation to appreciate all or any Of the foregoing,
and who nevertheless crave the mental excite
ment produced by The perusal Of highly wrought
romance Or tale; aud to minister to- these morbid
appetites i've hayg the Hash and lthe ,sepsa#oapp
novel. Bgsmy = murder and poisoning is their
Il