The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-08-21

tHOIIe
'Silas Marner'-George Eliot.
"The Bride of Lammermoor' =
Scott.
1.-The Three Guardsmen"-Du
Richard Feveral"-George Mere
dith.
What Will He Do With It'-E. L.
Bulwer
Mysteries of Paris"-Eugene Sue.
Far From the Madding Crowd
Thomas Hardy.
"Cranford"- Gaskell
/ cheerfully and confidently admit
that the last fifteen are but little II
any behind the most of the twenty
five selections What a fine selection
could be made farther that would in
clude John Halifax, Gentleman by
Miss Mulock; valentine and His
Brother" by Mrs Oliphant, "Wuther-
ing Heights by Emily Bronte; Dan
iel Deronda," by George Eliot. whose
real name was Mary Ann Evans; The
Hunchback of Notre Dame" by Hugo,
some of which would surely grace
the first list. There are so many works
of real merit that it would take a list
of 200 to embrace them all. Reade,
Anthony Trollope, Henry Kingsley,
and others might be drawn upon.
| have not named some novels of
genius-some of very high rank-be
cause | do not think them fit for fam
lily reading, or for that matter for the
reading of men, except of a very lib
eral, perhaps coarse type. | read Bal
zac's famous and much praised "Pere
Goriot.' / was entertained ana still
disguised. 1t is a strong novel. full ut
human interest, but it is to me vulgar
and salacious. According TO my recol-
lection its three chief women are all
unclean. OF course Fielding's Tom
Jones" is a great novel-some critics
put it first mang all English novels,
but / do not-and it ranks very high
but it is intolerably coarse and vulgar.
tried to read it within a year, and gave
it up in disgust. | read it more than
fifty years ago in my salad days. For
the same reason | exclude two power
full and most original novels by Har
dy-"Jude the Obscure" and Tess
DUrbevilles.' / might extend farther
by selecting one or more by Marion
Crawford. Black; another by Black
more; Twenty Years After" by Du
mas" (but it is not pure); "Villette,
THE Silence OF Dean Maitland" and
at least two by George Macdonald,
Scotch writer of much excellence, ana
THE Last Days of Pompeii,' by Bull
wer. Then / could conclude by turn
ing again to the four greatest English
novelists for other capital selections
Scott, Thackerav Dickens and George
Eliot. Hardy's ''Woodlanders, Charles
Reade's Put Yourself in His Place
and "Never Too Late to Mend Levers
Charles o. Malley,'' LaWrence's Guy
Livingstone" Henry Kingsley's "Geof-
frey Hamplyn," and Dickens's "a Tale
of Two Cities" are memorable produC-
lions, and have been widely read
through the last forty years, or more.
Some one voted in a contest for Mrs.
Wards Robert Elsmere" as the best
religious novel;" His idea of what
constituted religious story was re-
markable, for it is really novel with
religion of a genuine kind complete
~ omitted. | notice that in a contest
held some years years ago in England
as to the "best novels" that some
novels of hardly third rate We're includ-
ed. The voting resulted in choosing such
novels as the best as she, Mid
shipman Easy" THE Woman in
White" and Charles O'Malley." Such
selections show the grade of the taste
and intellectual capacity of the read
ers. The same class would greatly en-
joy the dominating, fast selling current
fiction. 1t seems there was "a day OF
small things before the present era
of hugely multiplying. evanescent,
trashy fictions, The old novels OF
merit, with a few exceptions, are for
gotten or neglected. The later novels
are largely sought and devoured be-
cause they are recent, just out, fresh
from the press and the brain traps
that caught. Andrew Lang is famous
Scotch critic and scholar, and both
novelist and historian, and many-slded
withal. In Longman's dondon) Maya
zine, he lately got off some fun at the
expense of deluded ignorance. He
thinks some of the old sensational
novels of the pasta half century or
a whole century ago-might sell large
ly if only reprinted and sold for new
novels but just coined and stamped.
L make a quotation in closing this ex-
cursion in the fictive world:
Like the person who lately review
ed 'Wuthering Heights as new
novel, the public simply does not know
what books exist With the aid OF
Pamela might be brought back to
the general knowledge and admira-
ton. Were / an American capitalist
should begin by furiously advertisinc
Mrs. Radcliffe. The Italian and The
Romance of the Forest would sell like
David Harum if the public thought
that they were this years books. Por-
traits of Mrs. Radcliffe Represented
by pretty young lady with a fringel
would keep up the deluson that she
was not dead person; for such the
public has no use.' The citizen who
lately wrote to Mr. David Hume tc
correct an error in his History would
be easily taken in"
L will add a few words here con-
corning Mrs. Gaskells Crawford
placed high in rank above. She was
born in 1910. In 1S4S she published
an excellent novel entitled Mary Bar
tom work of marked pathos. In
1855 she published her best book, anG
she wrote many, Crawford. 1t is Q
bucolic story of great naturalness
and simplicity, suggesting although
utterly unlike, '"The Vicar of Wake
field'' 1t is still read much, is vivid
and pure and admirable. Mr. w. J.
Alden London correspondent of the
New York Saturday Review" writes
of 1.-The Queens QUAR-" to which
have referred twice before as follows:l
Mr.. Maurice Hewlett has written
great book-one which will live.
don't think l can be mistaken in thus
characterizing The Queens QUAR-.
& Mr.. Hewletts prose has some.
thing of the melody and charm anC
warmth and color of Swiuburne's Bal
lads It is a wonderful book fron
first to last. It's men and women arc
l.