CORNISH CHARACTERS AND STRANGE EVENTS. By S. BARING-GOULD. Demy 8vo. 16s. net.
THE HEART OF GAMBETTA. Translated from the French of FRANCIS LAUR by VIOLETTE MONTAGU. With an Introduction by JOHN MACDONALD, Portraits and other Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 7s. 6d. net.
Daily Telegraph.--"It is Gambetta pouring out his soul to Léonie Leon, the strange, passionate, masterful demagogue, who wielded the most persuasive oratory of modern times, acknowledging his idol, his inspiration, his Egeria."
THE MEMOIRS OF ANN, LADY FANSHAWE. Written by Lady Fanshawe. With Extracts from the Correspondence of Sir Richard Fanshawe. Edited by H. C. FANSHAWE. With 38 Full-page Illustrations, including four in Photogravure and one in Colour. Demy 8vo. 16s. net.
⁂ This Edition has been printed direct from the original manuscript in the possession of the Fanshawe Family, and Mr. H. C. Fanshawe contributes numerous notes which form a running commentary on the text. Many famous pictures are reproduced, including paintings by Velazquez and Van Dyck.
THE DIARY OF A LADY-IN-WAITING. By LADY CHARLOTTE BURY. Being the Diary Illustrative of the Times of George the Fourth. Interspersed with original Letters from the late Queen Caroline and from various other distinguished persons. New edition. Edited, with an Introduction, by A. FRANCIS STEUART. With numerous portraits. Two Vols. Demy 8vo. 21s. net.
⁂ This book, which appeared anonymously in 1838, created an enormous sensation, and was fiercely criticised by Thackeray and in the Reviews of the time. There is no doubt that it was founded on the diary of Lady Charlotte Bury, daughter of the 5th Duke of Argyll, and Lady-in-Waiting to the unfortunate Caroline of Brunswick, when Princess of Wales. It deals, therefore, with the curious Court of the latter and with the scandals that occurred there, as well as with the strange vagaries of the Princess abroad. In this edition names left blank in the original have been (where possible) filled up, and many notes are given by the Editor to render it useful to the ever-increasing number of readers interested in the later Georgian Period.
THE DAUGHTER OF LOUIS XVI.: Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France, Duchesse D'Angoulême. By G. LENOTRE. With 13 Full-page Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net.
⁂ M. G. Lenotre is perhaps the most widely read of a group of modern French writers who have succeeded in treating history from a point of view at once scientific, dramatic and popular. He has made the Revolution his particular field of research, and deals not only with the most prominent figures of that period, but with many minor characters whose life-stories are quite as thrilling as anything in fiction. The localities in which these dramas were enacted are vividly brought before us in his works, for no one has reconstructed 18th century Paris with more picturesque and accurate detail. "The Daughter of Louis XVI." is quite equal in interest and literary merit to any of the volumes which have preceded it, not excepting the famous Drama of Varennes. As usual, M. Lenotre draws his material largely from contemporary documents, and among the most remarkable memoirs reproduced in this book are "The Story of my Visit to the Temple" by Harmand de la Meuse, and the artless, but profoundly touching narrative of the unhappy orphaned Princess: "A manuscript written by Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France upon the captivity of the Princes and Princesses, her relatives, imprisoned in the Temple." The illustrations are a feature of the volume and include the so-called "telescope" portrait of the Princess, sketched from life by an anonymous artist, stationed at a window opposite her prison in the tower of the Temple.
THE TRUE STORY OF MY LIFE: an Autobiography by ALICE M. DIEHL, Novelist, Writer, and Musician. Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net.
Daily Chronicle.--"This work ... has the introspective touch, intimate and revealing, which autobiography, if it is to be worth anything, should have. Mrs. Diehl's pages have reality, a living throb, and so are indeed autobiography."
HUBERT AND JOHN VAN EYCK: Their Life and Work. By W. H. JAMES WEALE. With 41 Photogravure and 95 Black and White Reproductions. Royal 4to. £5 5s. net.
SIR MARTIN CONWAY'S NOTE.
Nearly half a century has passed since Mr. W. H. James Weale, then resident at Bruges, began that long series of patient investigations into the history of Netherlandish art which was destined to earn so rich a harvest. When he began work Memlinc was still called Hemling, and was fabled to have arrived at Bruges as a wounded soldier. The van Eycks were little more than legendary heroes. Roger Van der Weyden was little more than a name. Most of the other great Netherlandish artists were either wholly forgotten or named only in connection with paintings with which they had nothing to do. Mr. Weale discovered Gerard David, and disentangled his principal works from Memlinc's, with which they were then confused. During a series of years he published in the "Beffroi," a magazine issued by himself, the many important records from ancient archives which threw a flood of light upon the whole origin and development of the early Netherlandish school. By universal admission he is hailed all over Europe as the father of this study. It is due to him in great measure that the masterpieces of that school, which by neglect were in danger of perishing fifty years ago, are now recognised as among the most priceless treasures of the Museums of Europe and the United States. The publication by him, therefore, in the ripeness of his years and experience, of the result of his studies on the van Eycks is a matter of considerable importance to students of art history. Lately, since the revived interest in the works of the Early French painters has attracted the attention of untrained speculators to the superior schools of the Low Countries, a number of wild theories have been started which cannot stand upright in the face of recorded facts. A book is now needed which will set down all those facts in full and accurate form. Fullness and accuracy are the characteristics of all Mr. Weale's work.
VINCENZO FOPPA OF BRESCIA, FOUNDER OF THE LOMBARD SCHOOL, HIS LIFE AND WORK. By CONSTANCE JOCELYN FFOULKES and MONSIGNOR RODOLFO MAJOCCHI, D.D., Rector of the Collegio Borromeo, Pavia. Based on research in the Archives of Milan, Pavia, Brescia, and Genoa, and on the study of all his known works. With over 100 Illustrations, many in Photogravure, and 100 Documents. Royal 4to. £3. 11s. 6d. net.
⁂ No complete Life of Vincenco Foppa, one of the greatest of the North Italian Masters, has ever been written: an omission which seems almost inexplicable in these days of over-production in the matter of biographies of painters, and of subjects relating to the art of Italy. In Milanese territory--the sphere of Foppa's activity during many years--he was regarded by his contemporaries as unrivalled in his art, and his right to be considered the head and founder of the Lombard school is undoubted. His influence was powerful and far-reaching, extending eastwards beyond the limits of Brescian territory, and south and westwards to Liguria and Piedmont. In the Milanese district it was practically dominant for over a quarter of a century, until the coming of Leonardo da Vinci thrust Foppa and his followers into the shade, and induced him to abandon Pavia, which had been his home for more than thirty years, and to return to Brescia. The object of the authors of this book has been to present a true picture of the master's life based upon the testimony of records in Italian archives; all facts hitherto known relating to him have been brought together; all statements have been verified; and a great deal of new and unpublished material has been added. The authors have unearthed a large amount of new material relating to Foppa, one of the most interesting facts brought to light being that he lived for twenty-three years longer than was formerly supposed. The illustrations will include several pictures by Foppa hitherto unknown in the history of art, and others which have never before been published, as well as reproductions of every existing work by the master at present known.
CÉSAR FRANCK: A Study. Translated from the French of Vincent d'Indy. And with an Introduction by ROSA NEWMARCH. Demy 8vo. 7s. 6d. net.
⁂ There is no purer influence in modern music than that of César Franck, for many years ignored in every capacity save that of organist of Sainte-Clotilde, in Paris, but now recognised as the legitimate successor of Bach and Beethoven. His inspiration "rooted in love and faith" has contributed in a remarkable degree to the regeneration of the musical art in France and elsewhere. The now famous "Schola Cantorum," founded in Paris in 1896, by A. Guilmant, Charles Bordes and Vincent d'Indy, is the direct outcome of his influence. Among the artists who where in some sort his disciples were Paul Dukas, Chabrier, Gabriel Fauré and the great violinist Ysäye. His pupils include such gifted composers as Benoît, Augusta Holmès, Chausson, Ropartz, and d'Indy. This book, written with the devotion of a disciple and the authority of a master, leaves us with a vivid and touching impression of the saint-like composer of "The Beatitudes."
JUNIPER HALL: Rendezvous of certain illustrious Personages during the French Revolution, including Alexander D'Arblay and Fanny Burney. Compiled by CONSTANCE HILL. With numerous Illustrations by ELLEN G. HILL, and reproductions from various Contemporary Portraits. Crown 8vo. 5s. net.
Daily Telegraph.--"... one of the most charming volumes published within recent years.... Miss Hill has drawn a really idyllic and graphic picture of the daily life and gossip of the stately but unfortunate dames and noblemen who found in Juniper Hall a thoroughly English home."
The Times.--"This book makes another on the long and seductive list of books that take up history just where history proper leaves off.... We have given but a faint idea of the freshness, the innocent gaiety of its pages; we can give none at all of the beauty and interest of the pictures that adorn it."
Westminster Gazette.--"Skilfully and charmingly told."
JANE AUSTEN: Her Homes and Her Friends. By CONSTANCE HILL. Numerous Illustrations by ELLEN G. HILL, together with Reproductions from Old Portraits, etc. Cr. 8vo. 5s. net.
World.--"Miss Constance Hill has given us a thoroughly delightful book...."
Spectator.--"This book is a valuable contribution to Austen lore."
Daily Telegraph.--"Miss Constance Hill, the authoress of this charming book, has laid all devout admirers of Jane Austen and her inimitable novels under a debt of gratitude."
THE HOUSE IN ST. MARTIN'S STREET. Being Chronicles of the Burney Family. By CONSTANCE HILL, Author of "Jane Austen, Her Home, and Her Friends," "Juniper Hall," etc. With numerous Illustrations by ELLEN G. HILL, and reproductions of Contemporary Portraits, etc. Demy 8vo. 21s. net.
World.--"This valuable and very fascinating work.... Charmingly illustrated.... Those interested in this stirring period of history and the famous folk who were Fanny Burney's friends should not fail to add 'The House in St. Martin's Street' to their collection of books."
Cornish Characters and Strange Events · The Wunder Library — complete classics, free to read, with narration.