The decline in these books is
gradual, although it is barely perceptible in the _Professor_. The
_Autocrat_ is, however, the brightest, crispest, and most vigorous of the
series, while _Over the Teacups_ is the calmest, as well as the soberest
and most leisurely.
Holmes wrote three novels, _Elsie Venner_, _The Guardian Angel_, and _The
Mortal Antipathy_, which have been called "medicated novels" because his
medical knowledge is so apparent in them. These books also have a moral
purpose, each in turn considering the question whether an individual is
responsible for his acts. The first two of these novels are the strongest,
and hold the attention to the end because of the interest aroused by the
characters and by the descriptive scenes.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS.--Humor is the most characteristic quality of
Holmes's writings. He indeed is the only member of the New England group
who often wrote with the sole object of entertaining readers. Lowell also
was a humorist, but he employed humor either in the cause of reform, as in
The _Biglow Papers_, or in the field of knowledge, in endeavoring to make
his literary criticisms more expressive and more certain to impress the
mind of his readers.
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