John William Cousin, A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature… (1910)
“ But to compensate us for these defects he offers humour, often, indeed, whimsical, but keen and sparkling, close observation of and exquisite feeling for nature, a marvellous power of word-painting, the most delicate and penetrating analysis of character, and an invincible optimism which, while not blind to the darker aspects of life, triumphs over the depression which they might induce in a weaker nature. ”
John William Cousin, A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature… (1910)
“ Few writers have striven to charge sentences and even words so heavily with meaning, or to attain so great a degree of condensation, with page 268the result that links in the chain of thought are not seldom omitted and left for the careful reader to supply. There is also a tendency to adopt unusual words and forms of expression where plainness and simplicity would have served as well, and these features taken together give reason for the charges of obscurity and affectation so often made. ”
John William Cousin, A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature… (1910)
“ In poetry he had produced Modern Love and Poems of the English Roadside (1862) , generally regarded as his best poetical work. These were followed by The Adventures of Harry Richmond (1871) , Beauchamp's Career (1875) , said to be the author's favourite, The Egoist (1879) , which marks the beginning of a change in style characterised by an even greater fastidiousness in the choice of words, phrases, and condensation of thought than its predecessors, The Tragic Comedians (1880) , and Diana of the Crossways, the first of the author's novels to attain anything approaching general popularity. ”
