's works, contains more than a love
story. Many chapters of high-class comedy and epigrammatical wit serve
to explode a fallacious educational theory.

_The Egoist_ has for its special aim the portrayal and exposure of
masculine egotism. This was a favorite subject with Meredith and it
recurs frequently in his novels. The plot of _The Egoist_ is slight.
The interest is centered on the awakening of Clara Middleton and
Laetitia Dale to the superlative selfishness of Sir Willoughby's
egotism.

Scintillating repartee, covert side-thrusts, shrewd observations,
subtle innuendoes, are all used to assist in the revelation of this
egotism. One fair April morning, after his return to England from a
three years' absence, Sir Willoughby met Laetitia Dale, an early
sweetheart whom he no longer loved.

"He sprang out of the carriage and seized her hand. 'Laetitia
Dale!' he said. He panted. 'Your name is sweet English music!
And you are well?' The anxious question permitted him to read deep
in her eyes. He found the man he sought there, squeezed him
passionately, and let her go."

The delicate irony of this passage is a mild example of the rich vein
of humor running through this work. _The Egoist_ is the most
Meredithian of the author's novels, and it displays most exuberantly
his comic spirit, intent upon photographing mankind's follies. This
book has been called "a comedy in narrative."

Diana, the heroine of _Diana of the Crossways, is the queen of
Meredith's heroines. She is intellectual, warm-hearted, and
courageous. She thinks and talks brilliantly; but when she acts, she
is often carried away by the momentary impulse. She therefore keeps
the reader alternately scolding and forgiving her. Her betrayal of a
state secret, which cannot be condoned, remains the one flaw in the
plot. With this exception, the story is absorbing. The men and women
belong to the world of culture. Among them are some of Meredith's most
interesting characters, notably Redworth, the noblest man in any of
the novels. The scene of the story is in London's highest political
circle and the discussions sparkle with cleverness.

_Evan Harrington_ (1861), the story of a young tailor, is one of the
lightest and brightest of Meredith's novels. It presents in the
author's most inimitable manner a comic picture of the struggle for
social position. In two of the characters, Great Mel and Mrs. Mel, are
found the pen portraits of Meredith's grandparent