For many years I have been an assiduous reader of novels and tales in which the historical element appeared, supplementing my own reading in this direction by a careful study of all that I could find in the way of Criticism on such works and their writers. Only in this way could I venture on a selection involving a survey of several thousand volumes With the above understanding, I can say that no book has been inserted without some reason, while I have made all possible effort to obtain accuracy of description.-Jonathan Nield