The Delicate Distress (Eighteenth-century Novels by Women) - Hardcover

Griffith, Mrs.; Ricciardi, Cynthia Booth; Staves, Susan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813120144 ISBN 13: 9780813120140

Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky, 1997

Synopsis

Frances Brooke (1724-1789), journalist, translator, playwright, novelist, and even co-manager of a theater, was described as perhaps the first female novel-writer who attained a perfect purity and polish of style. Today, Brooke is known primarily for The History of Emily Montague, one of the earliest novels about Canada, where she lived for a number of years. But it is her third novel, The Excursion, that is an important example of the fashionable and popular English novels of the late 1770s. Written for the very audience it portrays, this novel introduces the heroine, Maria Villiers, to London s gentle society and its glittering pastimes. Brooke drew upon the English court novel in the tradition of Eliza Haywood, Henry Fielding, and Frances Burney for her novel s overarching plot structure. But instead of concentrating on Maria s romantic adventures, she experiments with unusual treatments of subplots and unconventional characters. The most interesting aspect of her story is the development of Maria s ambition to win fame and fortune as a writer; it is one of the few portraits of a woman with literary ambitions by an early woman writer. Brooke s wry narrative voice foreshadows that of Jane Austen. The editors introduction places The Excursion firmly in the tradition of the English novel, provides a fresh biography of Brooke, and brings together the most important eighteenth- and twentieth-century criticism of Brooke s work. The second volume in the series Eighteenth-Century Novels by Women, The Excursion contributes to our understanding of the development of the novel and offers a lively view of women s position in eighteenth-century English society.

About this title

Review

"A valuable addition to the range of texts currently available." -- "British Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies"

"An excellent scholarly introduction providing information on the place of this novel in literary history and on Griffith's background as a professional actress, translator of French novels, and playwright, as well as a novelist of sensibility.... Access to such 18th-century novels written by women is crucial to developing an understanding of literary history and of the novel as a genre." -- "Choice"

"Fill(s) a genuine need among scholars and students interested in early British women novelists." -- "Kritikon Litterarum"

"A novel about a utopian community founded and run by wealthy women who had previously been victimized in various ways." -- "Kritikon Litterarum"

"A valuable addition to the range of texts currently available." -- British Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies

"An excellent scholarly introduction providing information on the place of this novel in literary history and on Griffith's background as a professional actress, translator of French novels, and playwright, as well as a novelist of sensibility.... Access to such 18th-century novels written by women is crucial to developing an understanding of literary history and of the novel as a genre." -- Choice

"Fill(s) a genuine need among scholars and students interested in early British women novelists." -- Kritikon Litterarum

"A novel about a utopian community founded and run by wealthy women who had previously been victimized in various ways." -- Kritikon Litterarum

-A valuable addition to the range of texts currently available.- -- British Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies

-An excellent scholarly introduction providing information on the place of this novel in literary history and on Griffith's background as a professional actress, translator of French novels, and playwright, as well as a novelist of sensibility.... Access to such 18th-century novels written by women is crucial to developing an understanding of literary history and of the novel as a genre.- -- Choice

From the Back Cover

This volume focuses on the problems women encounter after marriage- the issue of financial independence for wives, the consequences of interfaith relationships, and the promiscuity of their husbands.

Edition details

• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0813120144
• ISBN 13: 9780813120140
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 267