One of Dickens' most enduringly popular stories is "Oliver Twist," his second novel, published in installments starting in February 1837 and continuing until 1838. Like many of his later novels, its central theme is the hardship faced by the dispossessed

Mercedes of Castile; or, The Voyage to Cathay is a 1840 historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper. The novel is set in 15th century Europe, and follows the preparations and expedition of Christopher Columbus westward to the new world, Archival materials A full manuscript of the novel is held at the The Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia.Contemporary reception The New York Review of Books reviewed the novel in 1840 and was unimpressed, saying the novel was not contributing to "any great...