Produced by Delphine Lettau, Pat McCoy and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net WOMEN NOVELISTS _Of_ QUEEN VICTORIA'S REIGN Women Novelists _Of_ Queen Victoria's Reign _A Book of Appreciations_ By Mrs. Oliphant, Mrs. Lynn Linton Mrs. Alexander, Mrs. Macquoid, Mrs. Parr Mrs. Marshall, Charlotte M. Yonge Adeline Sergeant & Edna Lyall London Hurst & Blackett, Limited 13 Great Marlborough Street 1897 _ALL RIGHTS RESERVED_ Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. At the Ballantyne Press CONTENTS THE SISTERS BRONTE _By_ MRS. OLIPHANT _Page_ 1 GEORGE ELIOT _By_ MRS. LYNN LINTON _Page_ 61 MRS. GASKELL _By_ EDNA LYALL _Page_ 117 MRS. CROWE MRS. ARCHER CLIVE MRS. HENRY WOOD _By_ ADELINE SERGEANT _Page_ 149 LADY GEORGIANA FULLERTON MRS. STRETTON ANNE MANNING _By_ CHARLOTTE M. YONGE _Page_ 193 DINAH MULOCK (MRS. CRAIK) _By_ MRS. PARR _Page_ 217 JULIA KAVANAGH AMELIA BLANDFORD EDWARDS _By_ MRS. MACQUOID _Page_ 249 MRS. NORTON _By_ MRS. ALEXANDER _Page_ 275 "A. L. O. E." (MISS TUCKER) MRS. EWING _By_ MRS. MARSHALL _Page_ 291 PUBLISHERS' NOTE _Having been concerned for many years in the publication of works of fiction by feminine writers, it has occurred to us to offer, as our contribution to the celebration of "the longest Reign," a volume having for its subject leading Women Novelists of the Victorian Era._ _In the case of living lady fictionists, it is too early to assess the merit or forecast the future of their works. The present book, therefore, is restricted to Women Novelists deceased._ _It was further necessary to confine the volume within reasonable limits, and it was decided, consequently, that it should deal only with Women who did all their work in Fiction after the accession of the Queen. This decision excludes not only such writers as Lady Morgan, Mrs. Opie, Miss Ferrier, Miss Mitford, Mrs. Shelley, and Miss Jane Porter, who, although they died after 1837, published all their most notable stories early in the century; but also such writers as Mrs. Gore, Mrs. Bray, Mrs. S. C. Hall, Mrs. Trollope, Lady Blessington, and Mrs. Marsh, who made their debuts as novelists between 1823 and 1834._