Westward Ho! CHARLES KINGSLEY.
This is the best novel ever written on the greatest age of English adventure. It is a saga of the Devonshire sailors who, like Drake, sailed to the unknown to found an empire for their queen, "as good as any which his Majesty of Spain had." The story swings from start to close at a breathless pace.
Hypatia. CHARLES KINGSLEY.
This book is a remarkable instance of the range of Kingsley's powers. No difference could be greater than that between the stirring age of Elizabeth and that of Alexandria in the fifth century, when the world was occupied with barren ecclesiastical strife. Hypatia, the last defender of the pagan faith, is a wonderful study, and the whole book is a brilliant picture of the passing of the old faiths of Greece and Rome.
The Last Days of Pompeii. Lord LYTTON.
A classical romance is always a difficult form of art, but Lord Lytton's is easily the most successful. He does not overload his narrative with antiquarian details, and the story moves rapidly to its great climax. It is a brilliant and imaginative picture of the later Roman civilization.
The Cloister and the Hearth. CHARLES READE.
There are many who think this the greatest of all historical novels, and it is certain that there are few better. It is not a story so much as a vast and varied transcript of life. It is also a delightful romance, and Gerard and Margaret are among the immortals of fiction.
John Halifax, Gentleman. Mrs. CRAIK.
This simple and candid study of one who lived up to the standard of truth and honour and courtesy which an earlier age defined by the word "gentleman" is one of the most popular novels of last century, and there is no sign that its attraction is waning.