[In this article a definition of the "Historical Novel" at variance with my own, has been suggested. In spite of Mr. Fords argument, I am still of opinion that the line of demarcation between the Historical Novel proper and the Novel of Character or Adventure can be more clearly drawn than he allows. I was careful, when dealing with this question in my Introduction, to avoid making the test one of actual historical accuracy, but there are, I have implied, certain readily-verifiable personages and events which form a basis amply sufficient for purposes of distinction. The pirates of "Treasure Island" are taken (as Mr. Ford says) from actual figures of the Eighteenth Century, but under my definition Stevenson's novel is not thereby constituted "historical" in the strict sense.]
Article on "The Neo-Romantic Novel," by G. R. Carpenter, in The
Forum, March, 1898.
Article on "Historical Novels Past and Present," by Harold
Frederic, in The Bookman (American), December, 1898.
[An admirably-written, stimulating article.)
List of Historical Novels, &c., illustrating the Period 1066 to 1815, in the volume "Work and Play in Girls' Schools," by Dorothea Beale, Lucy H. M. Soulsby, and Jane Frances Dove (Longmans, 1898).
"Le Roman Historique l'Epoque Romantique," by Louis Maigron
(Hachette et Cie., Paris, 1898).
[Contains a fine tribute to Scott, and much interesting matter.]
Chapters III. and IV. of "The Development of the English Novel," by
W. L. Cross (Macmillan, 1899.)
[A very full treatment. In the Appendix are some useful lists of the earlier Historical Novels.]
Article on "Three American Historical Romances," by W. E. Simonds, in The Atlantic Monthly, March, 1900.