16. For BURNS the fullest life is that in the first volume of the edition (1834–35) by Allan Cunningham. Good shorter biographies are to be found in the Great Writers Series (J. S. Blackie) and the English Men of Letters Series (J. C. Shairp). Better known than any of these is Carlyle's "Essay on Burns;" and almost equally valuable as an interpretation is Stevenson's "Some Aspects of Robert Burns." one of 17. For SCOTT the "Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott" (5 vols.), by J. G. Lockhart, is indisputably the authority the greatest biographies. A shorter life by R. H. Hutton, in the English Men of Letters Series, is good, and the "Life" by Andrew Lang, in Literary Lives, is sympathetic. For most of the writers of the early nineteenth century, especially for Wordsworth, Coleridge, Lamb, and De Quincey, the following are full of matter: H. C. Robinson's " Diary," Dorothy Wordsworth's "Journal," De Quincey's "Literary Reminiscences,” and Leigh Hunt's "Autobiography." Other references are :— 18. For WORDSWORTH: "Life" (3 vols.) by W. Knight; "Memoirs of W. Wordsworth" (2 vols.), by Christopher Wordsworth; and the volume by F. W. H. Meyers in the English Men of Letters Series. 19. For COLERIDGE: "Life" (1 vol.) by J. Dykes Campbell; “Life” by Alois Brandl, translated by Lady Eastlake; “Life of Sterling," by Carlyle ; "Biographia Literaria," by Coleridge himself; and the volume by H. D. Traill in the English Men of Letters Series. 20. For LAMB: "Life" (2 vols.) by E. V. Lucas; the "Essays of Elia," by Lamb himself; and the volume by Canon Ainger in the English Men of Letters Series. 21. For DE QUINCEY: "Life and Writings" (2 vols.), by H. A. Page; the volume by David Masson in the English Men of Letters Series; and "Confessions of an English Opium-Eater ” and “Autobiographic Sketches," by De Quincey himself. 22. For BYRON the fullest life is that in six volumes by Thomas Moore, but it is not without serious defects. Much the best life is that (1 vol.) by the Hon. Roden Noel, in the Great Writers Series. Other good lives are "Lord Byron," by Karl Elze (translated by A. Napier), and "The Real Lord Byron," by J. C. Jeaffre son. 23. For SHELLEY the "Life" (2 vols.) by Edward Dowden is the fullest and best. An interesting account is that in two volumes by Shelley's friend, T. J. Hogg. One of the best is the brief biography by W. M. Rossetti. The most useful, on the whole, is that by J. A. Symonds in the English Men of Letters Series. 24. For KEATS there is no exhaustive biography. The best results can probably be got from the brief account by H. Buxton Forman, in his edition of Keats's works, and from the "Letters of Keats" (published with the works). The short life of Keats by Lord Houghton must always be interesting; and an essay by Lowell ("Literary Essays," ii) is very suggestive. The most convenient, if not wholly satisfactory, biography is that in one volume by Sidney Colvin, in the English Men of Letters Series. 25. For MACAULAY, as for Scott, there is an indisputable standard, the "Life and Letters" (2 vols.), by his nephew, G. O. Trevelyan. A good one-volume life is that by J. Cotter Morrison, in the English Men of Letters Series. 26. For CARLYLE much the most valuable matter is to be found in the voluminous correspondence of him and his wife and in the "Reminiscences " (ed. by C. E. Norton, 1887). The "Life" (2 vols.) by J. A. Froude, though not wholly trustworthy, is the fullest, and must always be depended on for much. A better, shorter life is that by R. Garnett in the Great Writers Series; an excellent brief account is by David Masson, in "Carlyle: Personally and in his Writings." Readers will of course note the partial autobiography in Carlyle's "Sartor Resartus.” 27. For RUSKIN the authoritative life is that (in two volumes) by W. G. Collingwood, but except for the letters contained in it, it is not nearly so valuable as Ruskin's own "Præterita" (3 vols.) or the excellent one-volume account by Frederic Harrison in the English Men of Letters Series. 28. For ARNOLD the best references are the "Life" by G. W. E. Russell and the "Letters" (ed. by G. W. E. Russell). 29. For DICKENS John Forster has done almost as well as Lockhart for Scott and Trevelyan for Macaulay. Those for whom his "Life" (2 vols.) is too long will find excellent accounts (one volume each) by F. T. Marzials (Great Writers Series) and by A. W. Ward (English Men of Letters Series). A brilliant book is G. K. Chesterton's "Charles Dickens," and one of the most understanding is "The Childhood and Youth of Charles Dickens," by Robert Langton. 30. For THACKERAY the best lives are by H. Merivale and F. T. Marzials (Great Writers Series) and by A. Trollope, in the English Men of Letters Series. 31. For GEORGE ELIOT the "Life and Letters" (3 vols.) by her husband, J. W. Cross, is the authoritative account, but too unqualified in its praise. Better and shorter lives are by Oscar Browning (Great Writers Series) and by Leslie Stephen (English Men of Letters Series). 32. For TENNYSON the authority is " Alfred Lord Tennyson A Memoir by his Son" (2 vols.). A shorter life is that by Sir Alfred Lyall, in the English Men of Letters Series. 33. For BROWNING the "Life and Letters" by Mrs. Sutherland Orr is the fullest, but more useful and less misleading for those who have only a short time to spend on Browning are the accounts by W. Sharp (in the Great Writers Series) and by G. K. Chesterton (in the English Men of Letters Series). ABBOTSFORD, 282-284. INDEX Absalom and Achitophel, Dryden, 134, Account of the Greatest English Poets, Actors, in time of Shakespeare, 74, 75. Arnold, Matthew, on Byron, 361; Advancement of Knowledge, The, Astrophel, Spenser, 51 n. Bacon, 62. Adventures of Ulysses, Lamb, 338. Album Verses, Lamb, 344. All the Year Round, Dickens's peri- L'Allegro, Milton, 96. Allingham, on Carlyle, 430. Annus Mirabilis, Dryden, 132. Apology for the Voyage to Guiana, Apparition of Mrs. Veal, Defoe, 149, 151. Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs, Appeal to Honour and Justice, An, Arcades, Milton, 96. Areopagitica, Milton, 105. Aubrey, on Ralegh, 34; on Spenser, Bacon, Francis, Declaration on Ra- Bailey, Archdeacon, on Keats, 399. |