384: 



LITERATURE, BRITISH, IN 1898. 



during the year, as compared with those of 1897, 

 from the columns of the ' Publishers' Weekly": 



LITERATURE, BRITISH, IN 1898. The 

 excitement incident to wars and rumors of wars 

 told more effectually upon the production of books 

 in Great Britain than in our own country. The 

 record of 1897 showed a total of 7,926 new books 

 and new editions published in England, while that 

 of 1898 was 7,516, a decline of 410. And yet this 

 number exceeded the total production of the United 

 States by 2,630. Of the 7,516 sent from the press, 

 6,008 were new books, whereas 1897 showed 6,244, 

 while the figures for new editions stood 1,508 in 

 1898 against 1.682 in 1897. As compared witfc 1896, 

 however, there is an increase of nearly 1,000 vol- 

 umes. Nearly all the decrease in new books is 

 found to be in the case of novels and stories for the 

 young. Of these, 1,960 were published in 1897, and 

 but 1,758 in 1898. There was also a great decrease 

 in the department of belles-lettres, essays, etc.. and 

 there were fewer books of political economy, art, 

 science, and travel. More law books were issued, 

 and more new educational works. Poetry fresh 

 from the pen appeared in nearly the same number 

 of volumes as last year, while the issue of new edi- 

 tions was considerably less. The large increase in 

 the number of miscellaneous works was accounted 

 for by the increased number of pamphlets. The 

 dignity and solidity of English literature have of 

 late years been marred by a trivial and prurient fic- 

 tion, but this year there was a marked promise of a 

 return to a simpler and purer standard, and the sex 

 novel tends to become a thing of the past. 



Biography. Several delightful books of autobi- 

 ography and reminiscences were published during 

 the year. Among them are to he noted "Auld 

 Lang Syne." by Prof. F. Max M filler; " My Life in 

 Two Hemispheres." by Sir Charles Gavan Duffy; 

 "Collections and Recollections," by G. W. E. Rus- 

 sell, who announced himself modestly on the title 

 rage merely as "one who hns kept a 'diary": Part 

 I of "Memorials, Personal and Political, 1865- 

 1895," in two volumes, by Ifouiidell I 'a liner. Karl 

 of Selborne, whose "Letters to His Son on Relig- 

 ion" were also collected; two more volumes of 

 "Notes from a Diary," by Sir Moiintstuart Grant 

 Duff, covering the years 1X?:!-1SS1 : -.Many Memo- 

 ries of Many People." by Mrs. M. ('. M. Simpson, 

 the daughter of Nassau Senior, who. from a child, 

 knew most of the people worth knowing in the 

 early part of the century and writes of them charm- 



ingly ; " Social Hours with Celebrities." by the late 

 Mrs. W. Pitt Byrne, the author of "Gossip of the 

 Century," edited by her sister, Mrs. R. H. Busk, in 

 two volumes ; " The Journals of Walter White," 

 Assistant Secretary to the Royal Society, full of 

 conversations at Carlyle's, Tennyson's, and else- 

 where, which had a preface by his brother, Wil- 

 liam White ; " Reminiscences," by Miss M. Betbam- 

 Edwards, and " Phases of My Life," by Dean Fran- 

 cis Pigou, full of the raciest anecdotes. Sir Herbert 

 Maxwell published a memoir of "The Honorable 

 Sir Charles Murray," the accomplished diplomatist, 

 scholar, traveler, courtier, and sportsman ; " Me- 

 moirs of the Life and Correspondence of Henry 

 Reeve," by John Knox Laughton, in two volumes, 

 brought us in contact with many noted men, be- 

 sides the genial subject, the editor of "Greville's 

 Memoir's " and molder of public opinion through 

 the press ; the " Autobiography and Letters of Dean 

 Merivale " were edited by Judith Anne Merivale, 

 and " Memoirs of John A. Heraud," which we owe 

 to Edith Heraud, his daughter, recalls the corre- 

 spondent of Wordsworth and Southey, and yet an- 

 other literary biography was that of " James Hain ' 

 Friswell," by his daughter, Mrs. Ambrose Myall. 

 " Personal Forces of the Period " were agreeably 

 reviewed by T. H. S. Escott, and " Newman Hall : 

 An Autobiography," details the experiences of the 

 great dissenting minister. The death of Mr. Glad- 

 stone brought forth many sketches and memoirs : 

 " The Story of Gladstone's" Life," by Justin McCar- 

 thy was revised and enlarged, carrying the narra- 

 tive to the close of the illustrious career; "Mr. 

 Gladstone : A Monograph," came from Sir Edward 

 W. Hamilton, well qualified for the task he under- 

 took by an intimacy of nearly forty years; "Glad- 

 stone, the Man," a non-political biography, by 1). 

 Williamson; "William Ewart Gladstone: His Char- 

 acteristics as Man and Statesman,'' by James Bryce. 

 and " Talks with Mr. Gladstone," by Hon. Lionel 

 A. Tollemache. A " Life of William Ewart Glad- 

 stone," edited by Sir Wemyss Reid, was issued in 

 twelve monthly parts. One of the striking books of 

 the year was " The Life of Charles Stewart Parnell," 

 in two volumes, by R. Barry O'Brien, giving an ad- 

 mirable picture of the man and entering deeply into 

 the political situations with which his name is iden- 

 tified. "Pitt: Some Chapters of His Life and 

 Times," by the Hon. Edward Gibson, Lord Ash- 

 bourne, threw light on the private character of the 

 great -statesman, and supplemented admirably the 

 more solid biographies. To political biography be- 

 long also "The Autobiography and Political Corre- 

 spondence of Augustus Henry, Third Duke of 

 Graft on," edited by Sir William R. Anson from 

 hitherto unpublished documents in the possession 

 of the family, and "The Life of Francis Place," 

 by Graham Wallas, and "The Life and Letters of 

 Henry Cecil Raikcs. late Her Majesty's Postmaster 

 General," for which we are indebted to Henry 

 St. John. "Sir Henry Lawrence, the Pacificator," 

 by Lieut.-Gen. J. J. McLeod Innes, appeared in the 

 " Rulers of India Series." and from Capt. L. J. 

 Trotter we had "The Life of John Nicholson, 

 Soldier and Administrator," based on private and 

 hitherto unpublished documents, which threw new 

 light on the stormy days of the mutiny, again re- 

 vived in "General Sir Richard Meade and the 

 Feudatory States of Central and Southern India," 

 by Thomas Henry Thornton, and "The Recollec- 

 tions of a Highland Subaltern," by W. Gordon-Alex- 

 ander. Sir Richard Temple contributed an intro- 

 duction to the highly interesting and picturesque 

 " Memoirs of Alexander (ianlner. Colonel of Artil- 

 lery in the Service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh," 

 edited by Major Hugh IVarse. "A Memoir of 

 Major-General Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson," by 



