His first novel after this, and the one which was to test the
practicability of his plan, was _Woodstock_, a tale of the troublous times
of the Civil War, in the last chapter of which he draws the picture of the
restored Charles coming in peaceful procession to his throne. This he
wrote in three months; and for it he received upwards of L8000. With this
and the proceeds of his succeeding works, he was enabled to pay over to
his creditors the large sum of L70,000; a feat unparalleled in the history
of literature. But the anxiety and the labor were too much even for his
powerful constitution: he died in his heroic attempt.
HIS MANLY PURPOSE.--More for money than for reputation, he compiled
hastily, and from partial and incomplete material, a _Life of Napoleon
Bonaparte_, which appeared in 1827. The style is charming and the work
eminently readable; but it contains many faults, is by no means
unprejudiced, and, as far as pure truth is concerned, is, in parts, almost
as much of a romance as any of the Waverley novels; but, for the first two
editions, he received the enormous sum of L18,000.
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