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THE PERFECTION OF THE NOVEL
by William Edward Simonds (1894)
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THE PERFECTION OF THE NOVEL
by William Edward Simonds (1894)
Excerpts from a chapter of
Introduction to the Study of English Fiction
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"Under the influence of the "Mysteries of Udolpho" written by Mrs. Radcliffe in 1794 —and very neatly satirised by Jane Austen in "Northanger Abbey" not long after —Matthew Gregory Lewis wrote "The Monk." Lewis was wise enough to discard the childish bugaboos of Otranto, and to finally explain his mysteries, or at least suggest an accounting therefor in his closing chapter. "The Monk" (1796) was written before its author had attained the age of twenty; and so powerful was the impression made by it that its writer has been known as "Monk" Lewis from that day to this. Lewis was full of the German influence of his time...."
"By far the most clever novelist of her day was Jane Austen (1775-1817). ... Quietly as she lived she wrote: her intimate friends were hardly aware of her occupation or her power. And it is a very quiet phase of life that Jane Austen has described, although her art is such that the most commonplace scenes appear eventful and the commonest characters important. No one since Fielding and Sterne had displayed such power as was hers in the realistic touches which exhibit character; but the material which supplied Miss Austen with her creations was widely different from that which furnished the earlier novelists with theirs. The most sensational occurrence in her pages is an elopement which ends with a due respect for the proprieties. The moral purpose is strong in Jane Austen's work. "Pride and Prejudice" (1813), "Sense and Sensibility" (1811), are her two most ambitious novels, and the titles are suggestive of the lessons they inculcate. The story is always told straightforwardly, and rarely drags; the author possesses a modest knowledge of the world, and allows a frequent dash of satire to give some piquancy to her descriptions. "Northanger Abbey" (1818) is written quite in the spirit of banter, and the humorous misadventures of the romantically inclined young heroine are shafts capitally aimed against the tasteless romances of the "Udolpho" type. Miss Austen was a most minute observer: microscopic is the word to be used of her method of observation and in treatment. With painstaking accuracy each detail of every process is described. Modest she was in all things, —yes, but not mediocre. Sir Walter paid her a remarkable compliment: "That young lady has a talent for describing the involvements of feelings and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The big bow-wow strain I can do myself, like any now going; but the characters interesting from the truth of the description and the sentiment is denied to me." So far as this applies to Jane Austen, Scott's words are eminently true. ... These stories were published anonymously, and although the secret of their authorship leaked out, they were never avowed by Miss Austen as her work. Their real merit was not generally appreciated until after the early death of their author, but the fame which came so tardily shows no sign of waning. Next to Scott, there is no author of that time whose works, so unlike those of the great romanticist, are so generally familiar or read with so much real appreciation today as quite, homely, wholesome Jane Austen."
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September 13, 2021 - September 13, 2021.
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