MODERN ENGLISH BOOKS OF POWER ***
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+--------------------------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's Note: | | | | Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has been | | preserved. | | | | A number of obvious typographical errors have been corrected | | in this text. For a complete list, please see the end of | | this document. | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+
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[Illustration: CHARLES DICKENS READING "THE CHIMES" AT 58 LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS ON THE SECOND OF DECEMBER, 1844. FROM A SKETCH BY DANIEL MACLISE, R.A.]
MODERN ENGLISH BOOKS OF POWER
BY GEORGE HAMLIN FITCH
"A GOOD BOOK IS THE PRECIOUS LIFE-BLOOD OF A MASTER SPIRIT, EMBALMED AND TREASURED UP ON PURPOSE TO A LIFE BEYOND LIFE." MILTON: AREOPAGITICA
ILLUSTRATED
BARSE & HOPKINS NEW YORK NEWARK N.Y. N.J.
_Copyright_, 1912 by BARSE & HOPKINS
The articles in this book appeared originally in the Sunday book-page of the San Francisco _Chronicle_. The privilege of reproducing them here is due to the courtesy of M.H. de Young, Esq.
TO AMERIQUE WHOSE LOVE AND ENCOURAGEMENT HELPED ME TO WRITE THIS BOOK
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION ix
THE VITAL QUALITY IN LITERATURE xi
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.
