WThe Aspern Papers is a novella by American writer Henry James, originally published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1888, with its first book publication later in the same year. One of James's best-known and most acclaimed longer tales, The Aspern Papers is based on the letters Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote to Mary Shelley's stepsister, Claire Clairmont, who saved them until she died. Set in Venice, The Aspern Papers demonstrates James's ability to generate suspense while never neglecting the development of his characters.
WThe Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses is an 1888 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is both a historical adventure novel and a romance novel. It first appeared as a serial in 1883 with the subtitle "A Tale of Tunstall Forest" beginning in Young Folks; A Boys' and Girls' Paper of Instructive and Entertaining Literature, vol. XXII, no. 656 and ending in vol. XXIII, no. 672 —Stevenson had finished writing it by the end of summer. It was printed under the pseudonym Captain George North. He alludes to the time gap between the serialisation and the publication as one volume in 1888 in his preface "Critic [parodying Dickens's 'Cricket'] on the Hearth": "The tale was written years ago for a particular audience..." The Paston Letters were Stevenson's main literary source for The Black Arrow. The Black Arrow consists of 79,926 words.
WA Dream of John Ball (1888) is a novel by English author William Morris about the Great Revolt of 1381, conventionally called "the Peasants' Revolt". It features the rebel priest John Ball, who was accused of being a Lollard. He is famed for his question "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?"
WIn the Reign of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminster Boy is a novel by G. A. Henty published in 1888. The novel follows the adventures of Harry Sandwith, an English boy sent to live with the Marquis de St. Caux during the height of the French Revolution.
WA Life's Morning is a novel by English author George Gissing. Although written in the space of three months during 1886 it was first published, in serial form, beginning January 1888, in Cornhill Magazine before being released by Smith, Elder & Co. as a novel.
WMaiwa's Revenge, or The War of the Little Hand is a short novel by English writer H. Rider Haggard about the hunter Allan Quatermain. The story involves Quatermain going on a hunting expedition, then taking part in an attack on a native kraal to rescue a captured English hunter and avenge Maiwa, an African princess whose baby has been killed.
WMr Meeson's Will is an 1888 novel by H. Rider Haggard. It was based on a well known anecdote of the time. The plot concerns a marooned man's will tattooed on the back of a woman.
WRobert Elsmere is a novel by Mrs. Humphry Ward published in 1888. It was immediately successful, quickly selling over a million copies and gaining the admiration of Henry James.