Froude’s miscellaneous work was published in four volumes called Short Studies on Great Subjects (1867–83). His History of England (1856–69) was issued in twelve volumes. In period it covers the time of the Reformation, and in method it follows the lead of Carlyle in its great detail and picturesque description. In its general attitude it is an indirect, and therefore an unfair, attack upon the High Church views of Newman. The work, nevertheless, is composed with much vigor, and is in the main accurate, though slightly lax in detail. Other books are The English in Ireland (1871–74), Cæsar (1879), Oceana (1886), and an Irish novel, The Two Chiefs of Dunboy (1889). His biography of Carlyle was issued during the period 1882–84.
4. The Historians. The nineteenth century produced many historical writers, of whom only a very few can find a place here.
(a) Alexander Kinglake (1809–91) was born near Taunton, and educated at Eton and Cambridge. He was called to the Bar, and practiced with some success, but in 1856 he retired to devote himself to literature. He saw much of the world, and watched the progress of the war in the Crimea. In 1857 he became Member of Parliament for Bridgwater.
His History of the Crimean War (1863–87) is enormously bulky and full of detail. In attitude it is too favorable to the British commander, Lord Raglan, and in style it is tawdry; at its best, however, it is a picturesque narrative. His other work of note is Eothen (1844), a clever account of Eastern travel.
(b) John Richard Green (1837–83) was born and educated at Oxford, and became a curate in the East End of London. He was delicate in health, and was compelled to retire from his charge in 1869. His last years were spent in writing his historical works.
Of these works the best is A Short History of the English People (1874), which at once took rank as one of the few popular text-books which are also literature. It is devoted to the history of the people and not to wars and high politics. It is told with a terse simplicity that is quite admirable. The Making of England (1882) and The Conquest of England (1883) are the only two other works he lived to finish.
(c) Edward Augustus Freeman (1823–92) was celebrated as the chief opponent of Froude. He was educated privately, and then at Oxford, where he became a Fellow of Trinity College and Regius Professor of Modern History (1884). He wrote many historical works, the most valuable of which are The History of the Norman Conquest (1867–79) and The Reign of William Rufus (1882). Freeman specialized in certain periods of English history, which he treated laboriously and at great length. This, as well as his arid style, makes his history unattractive to read, but he did much solid and enthusiastic work for the benefit of his students and successors.
5. The Scientists. The nineteenth century beheld the exposition of scientific themes raised to the level of a literary art.
(a) Hugh Miller (1802–56) was a natural genius, self-taught and self-inspired. He was born at Cromarty, in the north of Scotland, and became a stonemason, in which capacity he studied geology. In 1835 he became an accountant in a bank. He wrote much for the periodical press, and his writing attracted considerable notice. Latterly he suffered from mental disorder, and in the end committed suicide.
The Old Red Sandstone (1841) contains much patient observation of geological fact, and is still regarded as a valuable contribution to the subject; The Testimony of the Rocks (1857) appeared after his death. He wrote a little fiction of mediocre quality, published as Tales and Sketches (1863). Miller’s style is unforced and often impressive, and for sincerity, piety, and homely wisdom his books leave little to be desired.