]]> ]]> British Quarterly Review (1882): “We read on and on (noting improbabilities, yet finding that the writer’s art is such as to explain them away or to lessen them somehow in the light of later events) . . .” This is another of Gibbon’s romantic Scottish tales, again dealing with the conflict between social class expectations.]]> London Daily News (1893): “The famous party given at Chiswick by the Prince of Wales, at which the Queen and the Shah of Persia paced to meet each other with steps defined by royal etiquette from each of the tents erected for their temporary possession, forms the scene for a pretty and tender love-story with which neither the Queen nor the Shah has anything to do.”]]> ]]> The Academy (1883): “The story of a shipwreck, and of the adventures which follow it, is told with quiet effectiveness.” The Academy writer, however, does question whether this title is appropriate.]]> ]]> Times (1893): “Mrs. Riddell never goes to extremes in painting her characters . . .” This plot focusses on a conventional, haunted house, and is often cited as one of Mrs. Riddell’s successful ghost stories.]]> Contemporary Review (1893): “Weird Stories describe themselves in their title, and one reader confesses to have read them straight through, with as little stoppage as the course of events permitted . . .”]]> British Quarterly Review (1869): “Bears throughout the mark of Mr. Christie Murray’s genius. Full of subtle touches, which tell not only of extended observation and experience, but of imaginative tact and sympathy and graceful movements of intelligence.” A Bit of Human Nature first appeared in The Graphic Christmas number. It tells the story of a Chinese entertainer given shelter by an English aristocrat and the romantic adventure that follows. The Lively Fanny is a light comedy, concentrating on an Irish adventurer and his two loves, both named Fanny.]]>