open to more criticism, for readers differ more as to what constitutes a good novel than upon any other branch of literature. The following list was contributed by Mr. F. B. Perkins to the Library Journal (vol. i. p. 166). The titles are very short, and they are put down in no particular order. Most of us will miss some favourite book, but two people, Mr. Perkins says, have agreed on this list within four or five items. He says he was tempted to add a few alternatives, as Amadis de Gaul, Morte d'Arthur, Paul and Virginia, Frankenstein, Rasselas, Guy Mannering. Antiquary. Bride of Lammermoor. Legend of Montrose. Rob Roy. Woodstock. Ivanhoe. Talisman. Fortunes of Nigel. Old Mortality. Quentin Durward. Heart of Midlothian. Kenilworth. Fair Maid of Perth. Vanity Fair. Pendennis. Newcomes. Esmond. Adam Bede. Mill on the Floss. Romola. Middlemarch. Pickwick. Chuzzlewit. Nickleby. Copperfield. Tale of Two Cities. Dombey. Oliver Twist. Tom Cringle's Log. Midshipman Easy. Scarlet Letter. House with the Seven Gables Wandering Jew. Mysteries of Paris. Humphry Clinker. Eugénie Grandet. Knickerbocker's New York. Charles O'Malley. Harry Lorrequer. Challenge of Barletta. Spy. Last of the Mohicans. My Novel. On the Heights. Bleak House. Tom Jones. Three Guardsmen. Les Miserables. Notre Dame. Fadette (Fanchon). Uncle Tom's Cabin. Woman in White. Love me little love me long. Coningsby. Young Duke. Hyperion. Kavanagh. Bachelor of the Albany. GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES. GOOD collection of bibliographies is indispensable for a public library, and will also be of great use in a private library when its possessor is a true lover of books. One of the most valuable catalogues of this class of books is the "Hand-List of Bibliographies, Classified Catalogues, and Indexes placed in the Reading Room of the British Museum for Reference" (1881). It is not intended to give in this chapter anything like a complete account of these books, as a separate volume would be required to do justice to them. Here it will be sufficient to indicate some of the foremost works in the class. The catalogues of some of our chief libraries are amongst the most valuable of bibliographies for reference. The Catalogue of the Library of the London Institution is one of the handsomest ever produced.1 Unfortunately the cost of production was too great for the funds of the Institution, and the elaborate Catalogue of Tracts was discontinued after the letter F. The London Library being a specially well-selected one, the catalogue (which is a good example of a short-titled catalogue) is particularly useful for ready reference.2 The Royal Institution Library is very rich 1 A Catalogue of the Library of the London Institution, systematically classed. [London] 1835. 5 vols. royal 8vo. Vol. I (1835), General Library; vol. 2 (1840), Tracts and Pamphlets arranged in alphabetical order as far as the letter F. (never completed); vol. (1843), General Library, Additions; vol. 4 (1852), Additions from 1843 to 1852. 2 Catalogue of the London Library, 12, St. James's Square, S.W. With Preface, Laws and Regulations, List of Members and Classified Index of Subjects. By Robert Harrison. Fourth edition. Sold at the Library, 1875, royal 8vo. pp. 1022. Supplemental Volume, 1875-1880, sold at the Library, 1881, royal 8vo. pp. 219. |