G. W. APPLETON'S NOVELS.
A TERRIBLE LEGACY:
A Tale of the South Downs.
"One of the most amusing novels we have ever read. The author revels ina good character, and so the book is filled with grotesque oddities, atwhich we laugh consumedly.... A novelist who possesses the rare gift ofhumour. We are grateful for an afternoon of hearty laughter. Could wesay as much of nine books out of ten?"--_World._
"One of the most amusing novels we have ever read. Mr. Appleton has donefor the South Downs what Mr. Blackmore has done for Exmoor."--_St.Stephen's Review._
"It is not in respect of this rare gift of humour that I alone value theauthor. This story is a tale of the South Downs, and Mr. Appleton hasthe power of depicting in words the changing aspects of nature with anabsolute fidelity to truth. Counties differ, as human faces differ, onlymore so. Mr. Appleton has made the South Downs his own literaryproperty."--_Vanity Fair._
"The reader will not be long in discovering that the book is the work ofa good and clever writer of no mean dramatic powers--whether in pointof conception or of execution--with much drollery and quaintness atcommand, and a well-developed faculty of dealing with the mysterious,and other admirable gifts."--_Illustrated London News._
"Laughter-moving from first to last. Mr. Appleton has written nothingbetter than this."--_Scotsman._
"The readers of this strange romance will be bound to confess that theauthor has held them captive."--_Daily News._
"From first to last absorbs the attention of the reader."--_MorningPost._
"The novel is a novel in the true sense of the word, and whoever readsit must feel refreshed at finding he is perusing altogether a new styleof book."--_Observer._
"The novel is a piece of sound workmanship, and distinctly markedoff from the ordinary run. It is worthy of its author's highreputation."--_Weekly Dispatch._
"He has created types that deserve to survive and acquire as muchpopularity as has fallen to the share of some of those of our mostfamous humorists."--_Echo._
"One of the most original works of fiction we have met with for along time, as different from the usual feeble imitations of 'Ouida'and 'George Eliot' as a breezy common or a bright spring day isfrom the faint, perfume-laden atmosphere of an aristocraticdrawing-room."--_London Journal._
"Mr. Appleton's genius seems freer, brighter, and more effective in thelighter moods, and he is able to display a varied cultivation withoutthe slightest obtrusion of learning."--_Sunday Times._
"'A Terrible Legacy' is a book of great ability and power. It is acurious tribute to the vast vitality of Dickens' genius that acomparatively new and an able writer should openly take him for a model.Mr. Appleton is not a mere imitator: he does not follow in Dickens'footsteps by appropriating his materials, but by adopting his point ofview. He has chosen his master wisely, for his own talent is similar inkind."--_New York Daily Graphic._
FROZEN HEARTS:
A Romance.
"There is so much power and pathos in the narrative as to give it animpress of realism, and it is, on the whole, one that most people canread with hearty relish."--_Scotsman._
"'Frozen Hearts' makes high pretensions, and justifiesthem."--_Westminster Review._
"Good melodrama, such as this is, is a sure panacea against dulness, andimplies the possession of that vigour and _elan_ which every novelistshould have about him. In some portions, as in the exciting descriptionof the barricade fighting, and in the interview between the unjustlyslandered heroine and the mother who is breaking her own heart with herown cruelty, the author rises to real power."--_Globe._
"It is full of all kinds of excitement, and in some places revealsevidence of strong dramatic power."--_Academy._
"The story is new and striking.... Some of the less important charactersare amusing, and the light comedy scenes are above the average.... Mr.Appleton possesses the knack, so useful to a novelist, of getting to hispoint without any superfluous matter, and is always original andgenerally correct."--_Sunday Times._
_Victor Hugo_ writes: "Je trouve grand plaisir a la lecture de ce livre.Le chapitre sur les troubles a Paris m'a vivement interesse."
CATCHING A TARTAR:
A Novel.
"Mr. Appleton's new novel is in every way the equal, if it be notpositively the superior of 'Frozen Hearts,' the work which establishedhis just claims to popularity. It is a capital story, written in amost natural and graceful style. The plot is interesting, and allthe characters are distinct and realistic creations; some, indeed,are likely to 'live,' and become by reason of their quaint sayingsand doings, popular, as were in days of yore some of Dickens' andThackeray's personages. Notably is this the case with John, a mostoriginal and amusing character, whose pithy sayings provoke many ahearty laugh. The intrigue of the story is lively and intricate, butso skilfully contrived that the 'situations' never appear forced orunnatural. 'Catching a Tartar' is worthy of much praise, and isdecidedly one of the cleverest novels we have read or reviewed for along time. Mr. Appleton possesses exceptional talent as a novelist, and,above all, the rare quality of getting to his point without encumberinghis narrative with superfluous matter. He is always original, and neverdull or commonplace. His next venture in the shape of a novel will belooked forward to with much interest."--_Morning Post._
"Many able men have come short of being successful novel writers,simply because they lacked brightness or lightness or smoothness ofcomposition. Mr. Appleton displays these qualities; his book istherefore easy to read.... A vein of humour throughout, the effectof which is heightened by many a touch of genuine pathos. Somarked an advance in the course of a single year is deserving ofnote."--_Athenaeum._
"Mr. Appleton has here achieved a very decided success in the way of anovel of mystery. We must, if we are honest, admit that our attentionhas been irresistibly enchained throughout the three volumes. The bookis one, altogether, to be read, and we may safely predict that no onewho masters the first fifty pages will be the least likely to leave itunfinished."--_Graphic._
"The story is contrived with great ingenuity, and told with great skilland spirit.... Characters firmly and sharply drawn, with a good deal ofquiet fun and humour."--_Guardian._
"The narrative moves on briskly, and never lets the attentionflag."--_Spectator._
JACK ALLYN'S FRIENDS:
A Novel.
"Mr. Appleton knows how to write novels of absorbing and unflagginginterest and of remarkable cleverness, and his latest effort, 'JackAllyn's Friends,' unmistakably possesses these qualities. Much of thepeculiar interest of the story is derived from the subtlety with whichthe catastrophe is brought about. But there is also a brisk, almostboisterous vitality about the book--a sort of vigorous simplicity,resembling that of Messrs. Besant and Rice--with abundant humour andsome cleverly-managed love-making under difficulties. With all thesecharacteristics, 'Jack Allyn's Friends' is a novel which even those whomay pronounce its condemnation from the serene heights of aestheticismwill read and enjoy."--_Scotsman._
"Mr. Appleton has succeeded in writing a novel which combines themerits of Miss Braddon with those of Bret Harte. The plot is carefullyprepared, and the interest sustained until the very close of the thirdvolume. The stout old American, Bill Hooker, reminds us of one of BretHarte's Rocky Mountain heroes, whose hearts are of the same sterlingmetal as the ore from their mines."--_Graphic._
"There is no doubt about the interest of this novel. The plot iscertainly contrived with no little art. The secret is ingeniously kept.Suspicion is skilfully directed, first in one direction, then inanother, and the _denouement_ will probably be unsuspected. A decidedlyreadable novel."--_Spectator._
Transcriber's note
For this txt-version text in italics has been surrounded with_underscores_, and a spaced-out word with +signs. Text in smallcapitals was changed to all capitals.
A few errors in punctuation were silently corrected. Also thefollowing corrections were made:
In the table of contents "183" was c
hanged to "185" (The Dream 185), also on page 38 "behavour" changed to "behaviour" (frightened into good behaviour, like a naughty child) 102 "stange" changed to "strange" (to think of the strange interview which had just) 102 "communciated" changed to "communicated" (it was no doubt communicated to me) 103/4 "he" changed to "she" (favourite views, and she had walked) 229 "decrepid" changed to "decrepit" (the grim, decrepit hag which my fancy had) 238 "first" changed to "fist" (shaking her clenched fist to me) 257 "coninued" changed to "continued" (still continued to bind me)
Otherwise the original text has been preserved, including inconsistenthyphenation, and unusual spelling of foreign words.
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends