Though his books are seldom read today, G.P.R. James was one of the most prolific novelists of his time, popular both in Britain and in the United States. He produced more than ninety books, chiefly historical romances set in a wide variety of places and eras, and most of them were highly successful. One index of his popularity is to be found in the publishing figures of the Popular Library and Railway Library series, which produced cheap editions for travelers and casual readers. Between 1847 and 1860 the two series printed forty-seven titles by James; the nearest competitor in the series was Edward Bulwer-Lytton, with nineteen titles. There is also William Makepeace Thackeray's anecdote concerning a visit he made to his American publisher, James Harper, in 1852: Thackeray asked Harper who his most popular author was, and was abashed to hear that "James heads the list, far ahead of...