“The essays in the present volume are all readable, and have to a high degree the human interest which differentiates biography from general history.”
| + | Ind. 63: 226. Jl. 25, ’07. 230w. |
“In the main, here as elsewhere, Sir Spencer Walpole is a writer who will not dip his pen into the ink until he is quite sure of the accuracy of the assertion he is going to make. The road he takes us by may not afford many romantic prospects but at least the guide knows every inch of it.”
| + | Lond. Times. 6: 20. Ja. 18, ’07. 1510w. |
“We welcome these essays ... not only for their intrinsic merits, but because they are a sign of that trend toward biography which is needed for the enriching of historical studies in general.”
| + | Nation. 84: 340. Ap. 11, ’07. 1040w. | |
| N. Y. Times. 12: 68. F. 2, ’07. 300w. |
“These studies are notable for a temperate and judicial spirit. They are uniformly edifying; and though they do not sway the mind by high eloquence they never descend to dullness or commonplace, but win sympathetic assent by their workmanlike thoroughness and their manifest frankness.”
| + + | N. Y. Times. 12: 132. Mr. 2, ’07. 750w. |
“Sir Spencer Walpole’s volume is characterized by profound erudition and real literary distinction as well as by critical acumen and breadth of view.”
| + + | Outlook. 86: 335. Je. 15, ’07. 1220w. |