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MRS. GASKELL. Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) began, like Kingsley, with
the idea of making the novel the instrument of social reform. As the wife
of a clergyman in Manchester, she had come in close contact with the
struggles and ideals of the industrial poor of a great city, and she
reflected her sympathy as well as her observation in _Mary Barton_ (1848)
and in _North and South_ (1855). Between these two problem novels she
published her masterpiece, _Cranford_, in 1853. The original of this
country village, which is given over to spinsters, is undoubtedly
Knutsford, in Cheshire, where Mrs. Gaskell had spent her childhood. The
sympathy, the keen observation, and the gentle humor with which the small
affairs of a country village are described make _Cranford_ one of the most
delightful stories in the English language. We are indebted to Mrs. Gaskell
also for the _Life of Charlotte Bronte_, which is one of our best
biographies.

BLACKMORE. Richard Doddridge Blackrhore (1825--1900) was a prolific writer,
but he owes his fame almost entirely to one splendid novel, _Lorna Doone_,
which was published in 1869. The scene of this fascinating romance is laid
in Exmoor in the seventeenth century. The story abounds in romantic scenes
and incidents; its descriptions of natural scenery are unsurpassed; the
rhythmic language is at times almost equal to poetry; and the whole tone of
the book is wholesome and refreshing. Altogether it would be hard to find a
more delightful romance in any language, and it well deserves the place it
has won as one of the classics of our literature. Other works of Blackmore
which will repay the reader are _Clara Vaughan_ (1864), his first novel,
_The Maid of Sker_ (1872), _Springhaven_ (1887), _Perlycross_ (1894), and
_Tales from the Telling House_ (1896); but none of these, though he counted
them his best work, has met with the same favor as _Lorna Doone_.

MEREDITH. So much does George Meredith (1828-1909) belong to our own day
that it is difficult to think of him as one of the Victorian novelists. His
first notable work, _The Ordeal of Richard Feverel_, was published in 1859,
the same year as George Eliot's _Adam Bede;_ but it was not till the
publication of _Diana of the Crossways_ in 1885, that his power as a
novelist was widely recognized. He resembles Browning not only in his
condensed style, packed with thought, but also in this respect,--that he
labored for years in obscurity, and after mu