Cassell's History of England, Vol. 5 (of 8): From the Peninsular War to the Death of Sir Robert PeelAnonymous
History
Cassell's History of England, Vol. 5 (of 8): From the Peninsular War to the Death of Sir Robert Peel
Anonymous
Great Britain -- History
Now followed a period in which many works were produced which were
extremely popular in their day, but of which few now retain public
appreciation. Amongst these none reached the same estimation as "Henry,
Earl of Moreland: or, The Fool of Quality," by Henry Brooke. It was
designed to show the folly and the artificial _morale_ of the age, by
presenting Henry as the model of direct and natural sentiments, for the
indulgence of which he was thought a fool by the fashionable world. The
early part of the work is admirable, and the boyhood of Henry is the
obvious prototype of Day's "History of Sandford and Merton;" but as
it advances it becomes utterly extravagant. Miss Frances Brooke, too,
was the author of "Julia Mandeville" and other novels. Mrs. Charlotte
Smith, long remembered for her harmonious sonnets, was the author of
numerous novels, as "The Old Manor House," "Celestina," "Marchmont,"
etc.; there were also Mrs. Hannah More with her "Cœlebs in Search of a
Wife;" Mrs. Hamilton with her "Agrippina;" Bage with his "Hermstrong:
or, Man as he is Not;" "Monk" Lewis with his "Tales of Wonder" and
his "Monk;" and Horace Walpole with his melodramatic romance of "The
Castle of Otranto." But far beyond Walpole rose Mrs. Ann Radcliffe,
the very queen of horror and wonder, in her strange, exciting tales of
"The Sicilian Romance," "The Romance of the Forest," "The Mysteries
of Udolpho," "The Italian," etc. No writer ever carried the powers of
mystery, wonder, and suspense, to the same height, or so bewitched her
age by them.
Far greater, however, as the wielder of human sympathies by the recital
of wrongs and oppression, was William Godwin in his "Caleb Williams"
and "St. Leon." "Caleb Williams" is a model for narrative: lively,
clear, simple yet strong, moving in a rapid career--in fine contrast to
the slow, wire-drawn progress of the later three-volume novel--till it
winds up in an intensity of sensation. Then came Miss Burney, better
known as Madame D'Arblay, with her "Evelina," "Cecilia," and "Camilla,"
returning again to the details of social life. Afterwards came Dr. John
Moore with "Zeluco," etc.; Mrs. Inchbald with her charming "Simple
Story;" Mrs. Opie with "The Father and Daughter" in 1801, followed by
various other novels; and in the same year Miss Edgeworth commenced her
splendid career with "Belinda," and in the next year "Castle Rackrent."
To this period also belongs Lady Morgan with her "Wild Irish Girl,"
though she continued to live and write long after this reign.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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