g., Richard I.) appear.
As there has been some dispute on this question of the Historical
Novel proper, I offer the following definition:--A Novel is
rendered Historical by the introduction of dates, personages, or
events, to which identification can be readily given. I am quite
aware that certain well-known novels which give the general
atmosphere of a period--such, for example, as Hawthorne's "Scarlet
Letter" and Mr. Hewlett's "Forest Lovers"--do not come within the
scope of my definition; but this is just why I have added a
"Supplementary List" of semi-historical tales. And, while I am
alluding to this "Supplementary List," I should like to give my
reason for omitting from it one remarkable book which has every
claim to be considered representative of the mid-nineteenth
century. Readers of "John Inglesant" may be reminded that in his
interesting preface Mr. Shorthouse alludes to William Smith's
philosophical novel--"Thorndale." As a picture of Thought
developments in the early Victorian period, the latter work has
special historical interest for the philosophical and theological
student; in this respect it may be likened to Pater's "Marius the
Epicurean," which vividly reproduces the Intellectual ferment of an
earlier age.
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