For almost one hundred years an anonymous novel, or rather romance, bearing the title Mephistophiles in England; or, The Confessions of a Prime Minister, has been resting on the shelves of many libraries, unnoticed by students of comparative literature. The title itself is sufficient to attract the attention and to arouse the curiosity of any who have become acquainted with one of Goethe's most celebrated dramatic characters; an appreciative dedication in verse to “the immortal spirit of the illustrious Goëthe” indicates clearly the influence which the German poet had already exercised upon the writer; and even a superficial reading of the work, particularly of the first part, reveals the inspiration as well as the indebtedness which its author owed to the Faust.