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An Explanatory and Pronouncing Dictionary of the Noted Names of Fiction: Including Also Familiar Pseudonyms, Surnames Bestowed on Eminent Men, and ... Literature and Conversation
Excerpt from An Explanatory and Pronouncing Dictionary of the Noted Names of Fiction: Including Also Familiar Pseudonyms, Surnames Bestowed on Eminent Men, and Analogous Popular Appellations Often Referred to in Literature and Conversation
The principal deficiency is most likely to exist in the depart ment of Prose Romance; for, though there is very little that is fictitious in ancient literature which is not included in ancient Mythology, yet the field of research continually widens as we come down to modern times, until it seems to be almost bound less. In fixing the limits of the work, the consideration which has determined the admission or rejection of names has not been the intrinsic merit of a book, or the reputation of its writer, but the hold which his characters have taken upon the popular mind. There are many authors of acknowledged genius, and hundreds of clever and prolific writers, who yet have not pro duced a single character that has so fallen in with the humor, or hit the fancy, of the time, as to have become the subject of fre quent allusion. The English romancers and novelists whose creations are most familiarly known and most firmly established are Bunyan, De Foe, Swift, Richardson, Fielding, Smollett, Sterne, Goldsmith, Scott, Dickens, and Thackeray. Many of the portraitures of these writers may be safely presumed to be of more than temporary interest and importance. In regard to other and minor characters, from whatever source derived, it is to be borne in mind that a dictionary is chie y designed for the use of the existing generation. To what extent names of secondary importance should be included was a question diffi cult to determine. Opinions from scholars entitled to the high est consideration were about equally divided upon this point. Some favored a selected list of the most important names only: others, and the greater number, recommended a much wider scope. A middle course is the one that has been actually fol lowed. It is evident that many articles which may seem to one person of very questionable importance, if not wholly unworthy of insertion, will be held by another to be of special value, as throwing light upon passages which to him would otherwise be perplexing or obscure.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."
The principal deficiency is most likely to exist in the depart ment of Prose Romance; for, though there is very little that is fictitious in ancient literature which is not included in ancient Mythology, yet the field of research continually widens as we come down to modern times, until it seems to be almost bound less. In fixing the limits of the work, the consideration which has determined the admission or rejection of names has not been the intrinsic merit of a book, or the reputation of its writer, but the hold which his characters have taken upon the popular mind. There are many authors of acknowledged genius, and hundreds of clever and prolific writers, who yet have not pro duced a single character that has so fallen in with the humor, or hit the fancy, of the time, as to have become the subject of fre quent allusion. The English romancers and novelists whose creations are most familiarly known and most firmly established are Bunyan, De Foe, Swift, Richardson, Fielding, Smollett, Sterne, Goldsmith, Scott, Dickens, and Thackeray. Many of the portraitures of these writers may be safely presumed to be of more than temporary interest and importance. In regard to other and minor characters, from whatever source derived, it is to be borne in mind that a dictionary is chie y designed for the use of the existing generation. To what extent names of secondary importance should be included was a question diffi cult to determine. Opinions from scholars entitled to the high est consideration were about equally divided upon this point. Some favored a selected list of the most important names only: others, and the greater number, recommended a much wider scope. A middle course is the one that has been actually fol lowed. It is evident that many articles which may seem to one person of very questionable importance, if not wholly unworthy of insertion, will be held by another to be of special value, as throwing light upon passages which to him would otherwise be perplexing or obscure.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."
488 pages, Paperback
Published February 16, 2019
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