The Research Magnificent (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

This 1915 novel masquerades as a biography of the fictitious William Porphyry Benham, prepared by friends after his death.  From a young age, Benham fixed his sights resolutely upon the idea of expressing a noble quality in every thought and action of his life, forcibly curing himself of fear and other ignoble qualities.  The New York Times praised the book as abounding "in clever phrases and stimulating ideas."