SOME OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
The Edinburgh Review says:--
"'Neaera' is given to us as a picture of Roman life, under an Emperor asinfamous as the Antonines were honourable; and the picture is, we think,carefully drawn, and in its general features trustworthy.... Mr. Grahamhas at the least given us a story of sustained interest; which he has donewell in connecting with the little island rock of Capri. On this islandTiberius has left a lasting mark, and the remains of his work bear out theold stories told about him.... We may take leave of Mr. Graham'sinteresting and powerful tale with a few words in which he speaks of thepalaces and prisons which rose here at the despot's command."
The Saturday Review says:--
"An admirable novel.... 'Neaera' is a novel with a story, and as good astory as it often falls to one's lot to find in a new book. The interestgrows somewhat gradually at first, but increases constantly as the storyprogresses, and is multiplied by the interweaving of new threads and theoccurrence of startling incidents up to the very last pages of theconcluding volume. It is plain that a careful study of the masterpieces ofclassical literature, and of the places to which they refer, hasnecessarily preceded the writing of 'Neaera.' One of the best scenes in thebook is the final appearance of all the characters before Tiberius, who isto decide whether Neaera is or is not the long-lost granddaughter of theSenator, and whether the villain is guilty or not of the blackestcrimes.... The style is for the most part good. Mr. Graham writes in acareful and leisurely way, choosing good sound phrases, and occasionallyintroduces passages which are really eloquent and beautiful."
The St. James's Gazette says:--
"Mr. Graham has a keen eye for what is called on the stage a strikingsituation, and his situations follow each other so thick and fast that hisstory never flags. From the suicide of Apicius to the tremendous fight inthe dining-room under the eyes of Tiberius himself all is movement. Andthis movement is never hurried or huddled, nor are the means by which Mr.Graham extricates his characters from the difficulties into which hebrings them ever far-fetched or improbable. He is a born story-teller, and'Neaera' is in consequence an admirable story."
MACMILLAN'S COLONIAL LIBRARY.
1. BARKER.--Station Life in New Zealand. By Lady BARKER. 2. BARKER.--A Year's House-keeping in South Africa. By the Same. 3. BLACK.--A Princess of Thule. By WILLIAM BLACK. 4. CONWAY.--A Family Affair. By HUGH CONWAY. 5. CRAWFORD.--Mr. Isaacs: a Tale of Modern India. By F. M. CRAWFORD. 6. CRAWFORD.--Dr. Claudius: a True Story. By F. MARION CRAWFORD. 7. CRAWFORD.--A Roman Singer. By F. MARION CRAWFORD. 8. CRAWFORD.--A Tale of a Lonely Parish. By F. MARION CRAWFORD. 9. EMERSON.--The Conduct of Life. By RALPH WALDO EMERSON. 10. FARRAR.--Seekers after God. By the Venerable F. W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S., Archdeacon of Westminster. 11. FORBES.--Souvenirs of some Continents. By ARCHIBALD FORBES, LL.D. 12. HAMERTON.--Human Intercourse. By P. G. HAMERTON. 13. KEARY.--Oldbury. By ANNIE KEARY. 14. JAMES.--Tales of Three Cities. By HENRY JAMES. 15. MITFORD.--Tales of Old Japan. By A. B. MITFORD. 16. OLIPHANT.--A Country Gentleman. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. 17, 18, 19. OLIPHANT.--The Literary History of England in the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th Century. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. 3 vols. 20. ST. JOHNSTON.--Camping among Cannibals. By ALFRED ST. JOHNSTON. 21. MURRAY.--Aunt Rachel. By D. CHRISTIE MURRAY. 22. YONGE.--Chantry House. By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. 23. HARRISON.--The Choice of Books, and other Literary Pieces. By FREDERIC HARRISON. 24. THE AUTHOR OF 'JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.'--Miss Tommy: A Medieval Romance. By the author of 'JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.' 25. MALET.--Mrs. Lorimer: A Sketch in Black & White. By LUCAS MALET. 26. CONWAY.--Living or Dead. By HUGH CONWAY. 27. OLIPHANT.--Effie Ogilvie. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. 28. HARRISON.--A Northern Lily. By JOANNA HARRISON. 29. NORRIS.--My Friend Jim. By W. E. NORRIS. 30. LAWLESS.--Hurrah: a Study. By the Hon. EMILY LAWLESS. 31. THE AUTHOR OF 'JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.'--King Arthur: Not a Love Story. By the author of 'JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.' 32. HARDY.--The Mayor of Casterbridge. By THOMAS HARDY. 33. GRAHAM.--Neaera: a Tale of Ancient Rome. By JOHN W. GRAHAM. 34. MADOC--Margaret Jermine. By FAYR MADOC. 35. YONGE.--A Modern Telemachus. By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. 36. SHORTHOUSE.--Sir Percival. By J. HENRY SHORTHOUSE. 37. OLIPHANT.--A House Divided against Itself. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. 38. THE AUTHOR OF 'JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.'--About Money, and other Things. By the author of 'JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN.' 39. BLACK.--The Strange Adventures of a Phaeton. By WILLIAM BLACK. 40. ARNOLD.--Essays in Criticism. By MATTHEW ARNOLD. 41. HUGHES.--Tom Brown's Schooldays. By an OLD BOY. 42. YONGE.--The Dove in the Eagle's Nest. By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. 43. OLIPHANT.--A Beleaguered City. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. 44. MORLEY.--Critical Miscellanies. By JOHN MORLEY. 45. BRET HARTE.--A Millionaire of Rough-and-Ready, etc. By BRET HARTE. 46. CRAWFORD.--Saracinesca. By F. MARION CRAWFORD. 47. VELEY.--A Garden of Memories: and other Stories. By MARGARET VELEY. 48. BLACK.--Sabina Zembra. By WILLIAM BLACK. 49. HARDY.--The Woodlanders. By THOMAS HARDY. 50. DILLWYN.--Jill. By E. A. DILLWYN. 51. DILLWYN.--Jill and Jack. By E. A DILLWYN. 52. WESTBURY.--Frederick Hazzleden. By HUGH WESTBURY. 53, 54. The New Antigone: A Romance. 2 vols. 55. BRET HARTE.--The Crusade of the 'Excelsior.' By BRET HARTE. 56. CUNNINGHAM.--The Coeruleans: A Vacation Idyll. By H. S. CUNNINGHAM. 57, 58. HARTLEY.--Ismay's Children. By Mrs. NOEL HARTLEY. 2 vols. 59. CRAWFORD.--Zoroaster. By F. MARION CRAWFORD. 60. NOEL.--Hithersea Mere. By Lady AUGUSTA NOEL.
*** _Other Volumes to follow._
FOOTNOTES
1 The 'Clavus' was a very distinctive token in the later Roman days. The 'Latus Clavus' was a broad purple band running down the centre of the tunic; it was worn only by senators. The 'Clavus Angustus,' as described above, was a sign of equestrian rank. A senator retiring from office changed the former for the latter.
2 About L500,000, or half a million of money.
3 Nearly L90,000.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
The table of contents, which was not present in the original book, hasbeen added to the electronic version.
Variations in spelling and hyphenation have not been changed.
Following changes have been made to the text:
page 45, quote mark added before "I act", period changed to comma after "answer" page 62, period changed to comma after "patron" page 73, quote mark added after "Pretorians?" page 107, comma added after "freedman", quote mark added before "See" page 110, quote mark added after "goddess." page 233, quote mark added after "but----" page 246, period added after "look" page 259, quote mark added after "aristocrat." page 289, quote mark added after "not!" page 319, quote mark added after "requirements," page 364, "scrunity" changed to "scrutiny" page 376, "to" added before "proceed" page 394, quote mark added after "nephew." page 415, quote mark added after "Fabricius," page 418, "things" changed to "thing"
Neæra: A Tale of Ancient Rome Page 41
