Lord Montagu's Page: An Historical Romance

BY
PHILADELPHIA CHILDS AND PETERSON, 602 ARCH STREET. 1858.
I. WATY
AN HISTORICAL ROMANCE OF THE Seventeenth Century.
By G. P. R. JAMES, Author of
RICHELIEU, DARNLEY, MARY OF BURGUNDY, OLD DOMINION, ETC . PHILADELPHIA: CHILDS & PETERSON, 602 ARCH ST. 1858.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by CHILDS & PETERSON, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON & CO. PHILADELPHIA. PRINTED BY DEACON & PETERSON.

George Payne Rainsford James was born in London about the year 1800, and commenced his literary career at an early age by anonymous contributions to the journals and reviews which catered to the literary taste of a discerning public. Some of these juvenile effusions fell under the notice of Washington Irving, and this gentleman, with his usual kindness of heart, encouraged the young author to venture upon something of a more important character than the fugitive essays which had hitherto employed his pen. Thus strengthened in his literary proclivity, the young aspirant nibbed his gray-goose quill, commenced author in earnest, and gave to the world in 1822 his first work,—a Life of Edward the Black Prince. Mr. James now turned his attention to a field which had recently been cultivated with eminent success,—historical romance,—and completed in 1825 his novel of Richelieu, which, having received the favorable verdict of Sir Walter Scott, made its appearance in 1829. This was followed in the next year by Darnley and De L'Orme.
Richelieu was so fortunate as to secure the favor of the formidable Christopher North of Blackwood; but this invaluable commendation was withheld from Darnley:—
Mr. Colburn has lately given us two books of a very different character, Richelieu and Darnley. Richelieu is one of the most spirited, amusing, and interesting romances I ever read; characters well drawn—incidents well managed—story perpetually progressive—catastrophe at once natural and unexpected—moral good, but not goody—and the whole felt, in every chapter, to be the work of a—Gentleman. — Noctes Ambrosianæ, April, 1830 ; Blackw. Mag. , xxvii. 688, q.v.