Great Characters of Fiction

This volume was published in 1893.

Excerpts from the Preface:
In such an age as the present, when the craving
for novels and tales of all kinds is constantly on
the increase, and apparently almost insatiable,
it seems as if it may be useful to present the subject of
fiction in a new and different light as a profitable
study rather than as a mere indulgence wherewith to
while away an idle hour.

The love of fiction is rooted in the human soul :
witness the child's eager petition, 'Tell me a story;'
witness the power of the minstrel bard, the impro-
visatore, the story - teller in all ages ; witness the
romances, the legends, and the tales of folk-lore sur-
viving in all countries ever since the childhood of the
world ; witness the immortal power of such books
as the Pilgrim's Progress, Robinson Crusoe and the
Arabian Nights, which hold their own from generation
to generation. Stories true or fictitious always
have been, and always will be, of universal interest,
because they appeal to our humanity, to those deeper
thoughts and emotions, common to us all, which go
to make up the drama of human life ; and if they have
been wrought with that touch of nature which makes
the whole world kin,' they will live and speak and
teach their lessons when other books have to rest
silent on their shelves.

It is in vain to tell people not to read fiction
the young will read it because they are young, and on
the look-out for amusement ; the old will read it be-
cause it makes them feel young again, because it
brings back ' the glory and the dream ' of former
years, and makes their hearts thrill once more with
the memories of love and sorrow ; the weary and the
hard-worked will read it because it rests them, and
diverts their minds from the worries of life by plunging
them into the absorbing interests of a new and brighter
world.

Contents:

- Evelina by Mrs. Jerome Mercier
- Anne Elliot by Charlotte M. Yonge
- Esmond by E. Raikes
- Colonel Newcome by M. E. Townsend
- Jeanie Deans by Gertrude Julian Young
- Morton and Evan Dale by Gertrude Julian Young
- Agnes Wickfield by M. E. Townsend
- Sydney Carton by M. Bramston
- Shirley by Mrs. E. M. Field
- Adam Bede by Grace Latham
- Romola by E. Rajkes
- Amy as Leigh by Gertrude Julian Young
- Hereward by Mrs. E. M. Field
- Charles Ravenshoe by Christabel Coleridge
- Mademoiselle Mathilde By Amy Percival
- John Halifax, Gentleman by Mrs. E. M. Field
- Hilda by Charlotte M. Yonge
- Mara, the Pearl by Mrs. M. E Townsend
- Molly Gibson by Christabel Coleridge
- Kenelm Chillingly by Esm Stuart