great books.
Historical fiction has gone hand in hand with a revived interest in
historical and archaeological research. The greatest of all historical
novelists is Scott, whose Waverley series covers the centuries between
the crusades, which "Ivanhoe" describes, and the rebellion of Prince
Edward Charles in 1745, which "Waverley" describes. But other great
names--German, English, American--belong to this class of fiction.
"Uarda," for example, by George Ebers, describes life in Egypt a
thousand years before Christ. Kingsley's "Hypatia" takes us back to the
city of Alexandria in the fifth century of our era. In the "Last Days of
Pompeii" Bulwer Lytton describes the life of the Roman city at the time
of its destruction. George Eliot's "Romola" portrays the spirit and
manners of the city of Florence in the days of Savonarola and the
revival of learning. "Ben Hur" by Lew Wallace is a tale of the Christ.
"The Schoenberg-Cotta Family" by Mrs. Elizabeth Charles is a graphic
portrayal of movements and scenes in Germany at the period of the
Reformation.

Recently there has been a notable revival in historical fiction. It has
come, perhaps, as a reaction against a hard realism and empty
romanticism. It probably strikes its roots in the desire for knowledge
which at the present time is so generally characteristic of the American
people. Not a few of the recent books of phenomenal
popularity--Churchill's "Richard Carvel," Miss Johnson's "To Have and to
Hold," Ford's "Janice Meredith," Page's "Red Rock," Thompson's "Alice of
Old Vincennes"--deal with interesting periods in the history of our
country.

(4) The _problem or purpose novel_ has been prominent in recent fiction.
It has been a natural product of this restless, intellectual age.
Fiction has been made the medium for the discussion of political,
social, and religious problems. Not a few of them, as Bellamy's
socialistic "Looking Backward," have had an enormous circulation. "Uncle
Tom's Cabin" by Mrs. Stowe was a severe arraignment of slavery, and
exerted a strong influence in molding the sentiment of a large part of
our country. Recent theological unrest is reflected in Mrs. Ward's
"Robert Elsmere" and in Margaret Deland's "John Ward, Preacher." The
nature and influence of labor organizations are presented in Charles
Reade's "Put Yourself in His Place," and in the anonymous American story
"The Bread Winners." Hall Caine's "Christian" involves a serious
indictment against