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| [Introduction] | ix |
| | To Get the Spiritual Essence of a Great Book One Must Study the Man Who Wrote It—The Man Is the Best Epitome of His Message. | |
| [Macaulay's Essays in European History] | 3 |
| | Foremost English Essayist—His Style and Learning Have Made Macaulay a Favorite for Over a Half Century. | |
| [Scott and His Waverley Novels] | 11 |
| | Greatest Novelist the World Has Known—Made History Real and Created Characters That Will Never Die. | |
| [Carlyle as an Inspirer of Youth] | 20 |
| | Finest English Prose Writer—His Best Books, Past and Present, Sartor Resartus and the French Revolution. | |
| [De Quincey as a Master of Style] | 30 |
| | He Wrote the Confessions of an English Opium-Eater—Dreamed Dreams and Saw Visions and Pictured Them in Poetic Prose. | |
| [Charles Lamb and the Essays of Elia] | 38 |
| | Best Beloved of All the English Writers—Quaintest and Tenderest Essayist Whose Work Appeals to All Hearts. | |
| [Dickens, the Foremost of Novelists] | 47 |
| | More Widely Read Than Any Other Story-Teller—The Greatest of the Modern Humorists Appeals to the Readers of All Ages and Classes. | |
| [Thackeray, Greatest Master of Fiction] | 56 |
| | The Most Accomplished Writer of His Century—Tender Pathos Under an Affectation of Cynicism and Great Art in Style and Characters. | |
| [Charlotte Brontë; Her Two Great Novels] | 66 |
| | Jane Eyre and Villette are Touched With Genius—The Tragedy of a Woman's Life That Resulted in Two Stories of Passionate Revolt Against Fate. | |
| [George Eliot and Her Two Great Novels] | 76 |
| | Adam Bede and The Mill on the Floss—Her Early Stories Are Rich in Character Sketches, With Much Humor and Pathos. | |
| [Ruskin, the Apostle of Art] | 87 |
| | Art Critic and Social Reformer—Best Books Are Modern Painters, The Seven Lamps and The Stones of Venice. | |
| [Tennyson Leads the Victorian Writers] | 96 |
| | A Poet Who Voiced the Aspirations of His Age—Locksley Hall, In Memoriam and The Idylls of the King Among His Best Works. | |
| [Browning, Greatest Poet Since Shakespeare] | 106 |
| | How to Get the Best of Browning's Poems—Read the Lyrics First and Then Take Up the Longer and the More Difficult Works. | |
| [Meredith and a Few of His Best Novels] | 115 |
| | One of the Greatest Masters of Fiction of the Last Century—The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, Diana of the Crossways and Other Novels. | |
| [Stevenson, Prince of Modern Story-Tellers] | 123 |
| | His Stories of Adventure and Brilliant Essays—Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde His Most Popular Books. | |
| [Thomas Hardy; His Tragic Tales of Wessex] | 131 |
| | Greatest Living Writer of English Fiction—Resenting Harsh Criticisms, the Prose Master Turns to Verse. | |
| [Kipling's Best Short Stories and Poems] | 140 |
| | Tales of East Indian Life and Character—Ideal Training of the Genius That Has Produced Some of the Best Literary Work of Our Day. | |
| [Bibliography] | 151 |
| | Short Notes of Both Standard and Other Editions, With Lives, Sketches and Reminiscences. | |
| [Index] | 165 |