Supplementary List (Semi-Historical)

Suggested Courses of Reading (Juvenile)

Bibliography



INTRODUCTION.


It is not proposed, in these preliminary remarks, to sketch in
detail the origin and growth of the Historical Novel; this has
already been amply done by Professor Saintsbury and others. I
shall be content to approach the subject on its general side,
offering, at the same time, some critical suggestions which will, I
hope, not be without value to readers of Romance.

But, first of all, I must explain how the List which follows came
to be compiled, and the object I have in offering it. For many
years I have been an assiduous reader of novels and tales in which
the historical element appeared, supplementing my own reading in
this direction by a careful study of all that I could find in the
way of Criticism on such works and their writers. Only in this way
could I venture on a selection involving a survey of several
thousand volumes! With the above understanding, I can say that no
book has been inserted without some reason, while I have made all
possible effort to obtain accuracy of description. And this leads
me to remark, that just in this process of selection do I claim