In the whole imposing list of novels written by Hugh Walpole there is none that has reached and maintained the popularity of Fortitude. The absorbing interest of its romantic story, its enthusiasm and its conviction make of it a rare phenomenon among books in an epoch of uncompromising realism. That it is Mr. Walpole's favorite among all his novels can be readily understood. He says of it: "Fortitude is a romance—a fairy-tale about a young man who very naively believed in almost everything."