And Now For Something A Little Different...
So. I had a course last year (19th Century Women's Literature), that required me to read quite a few novels. Two of them...were hell on earth. And what's more there was never a summary online, not even a basic plot to help you grasp what the hell was going on. As such, I have decided it will be my absolute pleasure to post my detailed plot summaries of them on this blog in case future students run into the same problem as me.
HERE IT GOES, MY LASTING IMPRESSION ON THE WORLD:
Lodore by Mary Shelley
Character list:
·
Elizabeth
Fitzhenry
o Lodore’s sister – loves her brother
o Spinster
·
Henry
Fitzhenry / Lodore
o Title character
o Exiled for most of the novel
o Unsuccessful marriage, raises his daughter
alone
o Dies in a duel at end of volume 1
o A Baron – inherits this position from his
father
·
Cornelia
Santerre/ Lady Lodore
o Lodore’s wife
o Beautiful, marries young
o Starts off ‘lively, witty, full of playful
fancy’ (96)
o Refuses to follow Lodore to America to
retrieve her daughter
·
Ethel
Fizthenry
o Lodore’s daughter
o Pure
o Grows up in America – basic surroundings,
not many people
o Small inheritance from her father, 5000
pounds, because he did not amend his will – unfortunate for a Baron’s daughter
o Embodies the ‘Angel in the House’
Victorian ideal, meek and submissive
o A foil for her mother – similarities in
their stories
·
Whitelock
o Artist – receives patronage from Lodore
o Loves Ethel
·
Mr.
Francis Derham
o Lodore’s childhood friend from Eton – was
bullied there
o Fanny’s father
·
Lady
Santerre
o Cornelia’s mother
o Gets in the way of her daughter’s
marriage, unpopular
·
Count
Casimir
o Flirtation/affair with Cornelia angers
Lodore, makes him jealous
o Lodore and him fight, Lodore chooses to go
into exile and leave Cornelia
o Takes their daughter Ethel with him
·
Mrs. Greville
o Lodore’s friend in Illinois
·
Fanny
Derham
o Francis Derham’s daughter
o Friends with Ethel
o Contrasts to other female characters
(Ethel, Cornelia) because she is not attractive and is intellectual – does not
engage with men in the novel
·
Mr.
Hatfield
o Was at the same dinner party where Lodore
and Casimir fought
o Him and Lodore duel, Lodore loses and dies
o American – antagonism between him and
English noble Lodore
·
Edward
Villiers
o Lodore’s ‘second’ in the duel
o Ethel’s husband
o Gets arrested
o A Viscount
o P. 221 – passage mentioned in class – ‘He
had no hope of becoming independent; except through his father’s death…’ –
Shelley detailing the evils of the entailed property system
o Bad with money
·
Horatio
Saville
o Villiers’ cousin
o Has a romance with Lady Lodore, leaves her
to marry Clorinda
·
Clorinda
Saville
o Italian
o Horatio’s wife
o Passage on p. 260 describing her was read
aloud in class – ‘Certainly she was entirely Italian…’
·
Colonel
Villiers
o Edward Villiers’ father
·
Lord
Maristow
o Horatio’s father,
o Colonel Villiers’ brother
·
Mr.
Gayland
o Edward Villiers’ attorney
·
Lucy
Saville, Sophia Saville – the Saville sisters, minor characters
Plot Summary
VOLUME 1
Lodore/Henry
Fitzwilliam (as he is called while he is in exile) settles in Illinois with his
infant daughter. Lives in exile, is a patron of the fine arts, loves his
daughter and dedicates himself to her development. He tells Ethel that her
mother is dead. The novel jumps to a flashback of Lodore’s days at Eton, where
he befriends Francis Derham. Describes how he meets his wife, Cornelia, who he
finds beautiful and ignorant.
Their marriage
begins happily but Cornelia is heavily dominated by her mother, Lady Santerre,
who Lodore dislikes. Lodore eventually decides he was mistaken in his judgment
of Cornelia and their marriage struggles. She immerses herself in aristocratic
society and they become estranged. Eventually, after a row with an admirer of
Cornelia’s (Count Casimir), Lodore resolves to leave England with their newborn
daughter Ethel. Lady Lodore does not follow him, though he writes and asks her
to, because her mother advises her against it. She becomes separated from her
daughter for the next 16 years.
After 12 years in
exile, Lodore contemplates reconciling with Cornelia after learning that her
mother has died. Cornelia does not wish for this to happen. However, he decides
to return to England anyway. He dies in a duel on his way there. Ethel is
handed over to her aunt, Lodore’s sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Fitzwilliam.
VOLUME 2
Edward Villiers
(Lodore’s second during the duel) becomes involved in looking after Ethel and
Elizabeth. Lady Lodore also learns that her daughter has returned to England.
Eventually, Ethel and Villiers fall in love. After they are married he becomes
plagued by financial troubles and they are often separated. They go to Italy
together to visit his cousin Horatio.
Upon returning to
England Ethel begins to wonder about her mother, who she now knows is alive.
Her and Edward go to Longfield to say with Eliazabeth. After more financial
troubles, Edward goes to London. Ethel follows him. They stay there together
and are briefly happy, despite their poverty, because they are together.
Edward’s uncle,
Lord Maristow, mails him requiring him to go to Egham. Edward is being pursued
there by bailiffs who want to arrest him. Fanny Derham and Ethel are reunited.
VOLUME 3
Edward Villiers
continues to avoid his London home while the bailiffs are looking for him.
Ethel and Fanny’s friendship resumes and the novel talks about how different
the two are, with Ethel representing the Victorian feminine ideal.
Ethel and
Villiers are reunited. They plan to go to the country together. They move to an
inn in Brixton. Ethel tries to convince Edward to accept money from her
relatives, but he refuses.
Villiers gets
arrested and goes to prison. Not wishing to be separated from him, Ethel goes
to stay with him in a lodging. When Cornelia learns of her daughter’s
situation, she resolves to stop living selfishly and in isolation and instead
to dedicate her life to helping her daughter and son in law.
Villiers is
depressed that he can’t take care of himself, but resolves to continue living
because he learns that Ethel is pregnant. Lady Lodore moves to Wales and falls
ill, and leaves her house to the couple, who wonder about her absence. She
transfers all her wealth over, leaving her destitute.
Ethel gives birth
to a son. Elizabeth Fitzhenry discovers Lady Lodore’s situation, and goes to
visit her. They reconcile their dislike of one another, somewhat, because Lady
Lodore admits to her faults during her marriage to Lodore. The novel ends with
Lady Lodore contemplating her marriage to Lodore and her wrongs, and with a
reunion between her and Ethel.
Patronage by Maria Edgeworth (bear with me, this summary is long and tedious much like the book)
Character List:
Falconers:
·
Commissioner Falconer
·
Mrs. Falconer
o Fraudulent
o pushy
·
Cunningham
o Works
for Lord Olborough
o Politics
o Gets
the job by him and his father decoding the papers
·
Buckhurst
o Church?
Law? Doesn’t know what he wants
o Knocks
up Kate Robinson (she dies, he sends 10 pounds)
o Marries
Lady Clay
·
John
o Soldier
(promised by Oldborough that he would be a lieutenant and then a general)
·
Georgiana
o Fashionable
o Attacked
by a dog
o Musician
o Doesn’t
end up marrying Pembroke and instead goes to India at the end of the novel
·
Arabella
o The
ugly one
o older
o Marries
Robert Percy , but he deserts her when the case falls through
Percy
·
Mr. Percy
o GASSOCK
o Law/Translation
·
Mrs. Percy
o Not
so pushy
o Understanding
·
Godfrey
o The
oldest and should have inherited Percy Estate
o Soldier
(colonel?)
o In
love with Maria Hauton (divorcee’s daughter)
o Seems
to be the favorite
o Promoted
to major
·
Alfred
o Barrister
o Marries
Sophia Leicester (doctor’s niece)
·
Erasmus
o Physician
o Dr.
Frumpton, patronage?
·
Rosamund
o Marries
Mr. Temple
o Imagination
o Wild
child of the family
o Less
pretty
·
Caroline
o Count
Altenburg
o Very
pretty
o Very
reasonable and smart
·
Sir Robert
Percy
o Marries
Arabella
MISC
·
Lord Olborough
o Old
friend of Mr. Percy
o Everyone’s
Patron – helps Cunningham and John
o Hauton
is niece
o Believed
that John was in love with Maria, and wanted to stop being John’s Patron.
o Two
threats to powers: One scheme against him in the De Tourville papers, Duke of
Greenwich and the King accuse him of trying to promote people (Mrs. Falconer’s
letters)
·
M. De Tourville
o French,
cowardly, papers
·
Count Altenberg
o All
around good guy
o Marries
Caroline
o Very
rich
o Instructs
German Prince not to marry Euphrosyne
·
Lady Maria Hauton
o Mother
was a divorcee, lived with her mother makes her unacceptable
o Beautiful
o The
perfect woman, BUT SHE’S TAINTED
·
Colonel Hauton
o Maria
Hauton’s brother
·
Dr. Frumpton
o Physician,
but not a gentleman
·
Colonel Gascoigne
o He
likes Rosamond
·
Henry (soldier)
·
Mr. Temple
o Oldborough’s
secretary
o Marries
and proposes to Rosamond
o Doesn’t
have very much money
·
Mr. Gresham
o Mr.
Panton’s partner
o He
proposes to Rosamond, she cannot love because of his profession, no man who
isn’t a hero, and doesn’t like the idea of marrying of money
·
Mr. Panton
o Has
a falling out with Erasmus over Constance
o Is
a hypochondriac
o His
daughter is Constance (she needs to marry a Baron’s son to compensate for her
father being of low birth)
·
Colonel Hungerford
o Hungerford
Castle
o Proposes
to Caroline, because she seems to like him, but she doesn’t
o Better
suited to her friend Pembrooke (Mary)
·
Lady Jane Granville
o The
Percy Children’s Aunt
o more
traditional view of marriage – marriage for money and rank
o tries
to marry Caroline to Lord Williams
·
Lady Angelica Headingham
o Manipulative
Bitch
o Mrs.
Hungerford’s niece
o Came
into a large estate and became super fashionable
o Belle
esprit
o In
love with Barclay – is in Hungerford castle at the same time as Caroline
·
Mrs. Hungerford
o loves
Caroline like a daughter
o but
prefers Pembroke to Caroline for Colonel Hungerford
·
O’Brien
o Mr.
Gresham employ him as his porter
·
Mr. Barclay
o Angelica
Headingham wants, but he proposes to Caroline
·
Dr. Leicester
o Sophia
Leicester
·
James Harcourt
o Is
in love with Angelica Headingham
General Notes
·
Plot driven by war time setting – Napoleonic
wars
·
Patronage vs Independence – Falconers vs Percys
·
Godfrey – Soldier
·
Alfred – Barrister
o Curries
favor not through Patronage and bribery but by doing excellently (Barrister
Friend)
·
Erasmus – Physician
·
Cunningham – Politics
·
John – Soldier (promoted on Patronage, but then
messes up to Oldborough’s downfall)
·
Rosamond refuses Mr. Gresham’s proposal because
he is of the merchant class and does not wish to take on his awful connexions,
additionally, she does not want to marry for wealth, and she wants to marry a
hero
List of Caroline’s
Proposals
·
Buckhurst
·
Mr. Barclay
·
Colonel Hungerford
·
English Clay
·
Could Altenburg
o Commissioner
asks Caroline to be heroine in a play, she refuses
o Georgiana
attacked by barking dog, but Caroline saves her
Volume 1:
The story begins at Percy Hall, when a Dutch merchant ship
crashes a little offshore. Among
one of the people rescued is M. De Tourville a French chargé d’affaires who’s
carrying coded papers of importance to Lord Oldborough.
Commissioner Falconer comes to visit and realizes Tourville
should have been detained. But he was in possession of the papers which
Tourville had lost. SO he goes to Lord and
he's all "I shall be your patron and you shall decode this and discover my
enemies"
Then it's all about Commissioner
Falconer trying to get his sons in high places. Then we focus on Buckhurst
Falconer and how his father wants him to go to the church but he doesn’t want
to, and instead is in love with Caroline Percy. Buckhurst talks to Mr. Percy
about getting into law but groans at the idea of actual work. Buckhurst then
proposes to Caroline, but gets rejected.
Then he holds a ball, but
Caroline doesn’t go out of courtesy to him, and this is where Colonel Hauton
and his sister are introduced. Godfrey's all "yo you liked to my
sister"
and then everyone thinks
maria's super hawt, but because her mother was a divorcee is unfit for
marriage. Although Godfrey is taken with her. Next day he goes to she if she is
alright cause she faints like the lady she is, but finds out she is engaged to
the Marquis of Twickenham.
Then Godfrey heads back up
to his bros, otherwise known as a regiment in the army.
Right after he leaves, part
of Percy halls sets on fire. And Caroline saves the old maid in the attic. Mr.
Percy checks his papers and finds that he has lost the ‘deed’ to Percy Estate.
Mr. Sharpe (attorney for Robert Percy) here’s this.
Then we hear all about
Alfred and Erasmus doing their doctor and lawyer thang. Alfred
(barrister) and Erasmus (physician), through their letters; Alfred says that
business is slow; gives the history of his friend Mr. Temple, victim of
patronage who abandoned the legal profession and now writes documents for money
for Cunningham; Erasmus also has slow business, pays court on recommendation to
the famous physician Sir Amyas, but displeases Sir Amyas by revealing the truth
about one of his art pieces; Erasmus's next letter reveals that he is
approached by Sir Amyas's nemesis Dr. Frumpton, but Erasmus contradicts
Frumption's opinion about an amputation, and though he saves the man's leg,
loses Frumpton's favor; Alfred gives news about Buckhurst's dissipation, a
negative report about the Falconer daughters, and a hint at lawyer Sharpe's
retribution; Caroline rejects Buckhurst’s renewed proposals
We then meet Gascoigne and Captain Henry through Godfrey’s
letters. And how he appeals to Lord Oldborough to stop passing Gascoigne over.
But because Oldborough thinks his niece Maria Hauton won’t marry Twickenham
because she’s in love with Godfrey he sends his regiment to the West indies
(thanks to stupid Cunningham)
Then Oldborough tells Falconer if his son John gets married
in a fortnight and moves away he will be advanced greatly in the army in like a
year. So he does…he marries Miss Petcalf. Commissioner Falconer still can’t
figure out what “Gassoc” is in the Tourville papers.
Buckhurst gets lucky and dines with Bishop Clay - saves him from choking by blowing in
his ear, and gets a living.
Then the Percy’s have to leave Percy hall, cause their bitch
of a relation Robert has decided to take over the house with a lack of a
deed. They go to The Hills. Commissioner Falconer visits
and there is a discussion on the pros and cons of Patronage.
Most "friends" of the Percys let their connection
drop (including the Falconers, except Buckhurst, who writes to Caroline again,
who refuses his proposal); Caroline and Rosamond meet Kate Robinson and her
baby; the old woman Dorothy tells Kate's sad story, that she was abandoned,
pregnant, by Buckhurst; Percy women discussion of Buckhurst and love; Kate dies
without Buckhurst knowing, though he sends their child £10 after her death
Lady Jane Granville (distant relative of Mr Percy) comes to
the Hills and implores Caroline to let her take her and show her off and get
her married. A very annoying old fashioned character. Caroline refuses. Kind of
awkward.
Then Mrs. Hungerford and her daughter Mrs. Mortimer turn up
– and they love Caroline like a daughter. Invite them to Hungerford Castle to
stay with Lady Angelica Headingham, Sir James Harcourt, Mr. Barclay and Lady
Pembroke.
Volume 2:
At this point it looks like
patronage is pulling ahead, because the percys suck and the falconers are aces.
We might O’Brien who
Erasmus saves from being an amputee.
Then we go to Hungerford Castle and we think Caroline is
going to marry Colonel Hungerford. But his mother and Caroline think he is
better suited to her neice Mary Pembroke.
Barclay starts to like Caroline over Angelica and proposes. She rejects
him.
Erasmus writes of Constance, the woman he met at Mr.
Gresham's house, who is the daughter of Gresham's partner Mr. Panton, the
London counterpart to the shipwrecked Dutch merchants, and Captain Henry now
works for him; Constance is not to Erasmus's taste and is the destined match of
a man of title, though she has not been spoiled by her father's low tastes; Mr.
Panton, the hypochondriac, is Erasmus's patient; Erasmus tries to help him by
humoring his fancies, but really inducing him into habits of better living;
after his success with Mr. Panton, Erasmus gets a good reputation; Mr. Gresham
employs O'Brien as his porter; Mr. Percy explains his principles on patronage,
which are not in conflict with Erasmus's actions; letter from Alfred in which
he tells about how he got put on a brief of Oldborough's, but his superior took
all the credit; Alfred saw Buckhurst preach and declares him to be too
fashionable; Oldborough distinguishes Alfred at the church, after which the
Falconers acknowledge him; Alfred reports that Oldborough has taken Temple to
be his secretary; Oldborough's declared belief to hide his mistakes (which is
why he continues to patronize the Falconers); Alfred tells of how he removed
the necessity of Farmer Grimwood's law suit; Alfred falls in love with Sophia,
the niece of Dr. Leicester, who was the almost-opponent in Grimwood's suit
Then Mr. Panton believes Erasmus is in love with his
daughter, and it’s supes awk. Then
Erasmus saves Mr. Gresham who goes and stays at The Hills with the Percy’s. falls in love with Rosamond. It’s here
that she has the discussion about not marrying into merchant family. Panton dies somewhere in here.
Alfred's opponent in the Hauton-Oldborough case recognized
the good point he made and recommended him to clients; good example of
Counsellor Friend, who introduces him to the lord chief justice, and Alfred
makes a good impression on him; Alfred gets placed on more prestigious cases
where his merit is allowed to show, and he then becomes in more demand, and his
preparations eventually allow him to fill in for his ill superiors; Alfred
becomes very popular and is invited to Lady Angelica's drawing rooms; Alfred
helps his troubled relative Lady Jane Granville with her legal case and Mr.
Gresham with his case; Godfrey writes to say that his regiment has been
recalled from the West Indies and Gascoigne has been promoted, all thanks to
Oldborough; the old lieutenant-colonel died after drinking too much, while
Godfrey and Gascoigne, the only temperate officers, are the only ones in
health; hint about Gascoigne liking Rosamond (or rather, her journal)
Alfred writes in a letter about Count Altenberg.
Then we segue to the Miss Falconers, and the ball they have
at which Count Altenburg and Alfred attend.
People are starting to complain about the patronage of the
Falconers because they aren’t doing so well, and Lord Oldborough is taking flak
for it.
Then the Falconers and Altenberg visit Percy Hall and
everyone agrees Caroline is a babe due to the portrait painted by the old lady
from the fire’s son. Arabella’s
gearing up to marry Robert Percy.
Then there’s the Falconer ball to which the Percy’s are
invited. And they’re late cause their carriage overturn, and then hi-jinks
ensue when Mrs. Falconer makes them change shoes so Caroline cant dance with
the count, and Rosamund steals em back!
Volume III
Oldborough is sociable and shows off the Percys to Count
Altenberg; the Percys walk with Mr. Temple and the count when Falconer comes
upon them and invites Caroline to participate in the theatricals, but she
declines, though the Percys plan to watch; the count visits the Percys
frequently at the Hills; Mrs. Falconer devises a new plan for Georgiana to
ensnare one of the Clays or Petcalf; Georgiana's troubles selling off her old
gowns to her maid to raise enough money for a new gown for the play, but Mrs.
Falconer manages to get money for two new gowns for her in exchange for
Georgiana's promise that she'll marry Petcalf in a year if nothing better
offers; final preparations (and squabbles) regarding the private theatricals. All
the Percy’s and Altenberg head to Clermont Park (Lord Oldborough’s place).
Caroline and Altenberg fall more in love…and then Mrs. Falconer’s all “let’s
perform Zaire” and Caroline’s all “no, that ain’t what graceful swans of lady’s
do”.
Then the whole play debaucle and
georgi's attacked by a dog, Caroline is an upstanding young woman.
As the count prepares to leave England because he’s been
called back by his dad to get married, Oldborough asks him to see if Cunningham
is going rogue in Germany; Falconer nervous about his influence with
Oldborough, and Mr. and Mrs. Falconer argue about the upbringing of their
daughters and expenditure habits; French Clay marries an Italian performer that
Mrs. Falconer features during her performance nights, but Mrs. Falconer manages
to get a proposal for Georgiana from English Clay with Lady Trant's assistance;
at the same time, Buckhurst was experiencing disappointments, including losing
the long-expected living from Colonel Hauton after Hauton catches him making
fun of him, so Buckhurst proposes to and is accepted by Tammy Clay, the
bishop's sister; French and English Clay, her nephews, oppose the match, and
English Clay opposes the projected "double" alliance; Buckhurst
marries Tammy Clay before Mrs. Falconer and Georgiana can convince him
otherwise, and Mrs. Falconer plans to settle for Petcalf as Georgiana’s husband
Temple tells Alfred that he loves Rosamond, and since Alfred
has country-business for Oldborough too, they head out almost immediately;
because Alfred does not have enough to live on, Rosamond does not accept him,
but she gives him hope and her parents give her permission to correspond with
him; Percys go to Hungerford Castle to celebrate Mr. Barclay's and Lady Mary
Pembroke's marriage, and Caroline remains with Mrs. Hungerford; after hearing
of Lady Jane Granville's illness, Caroline leaves the Hungerfords to attend to
her aunt
Volume IV
Lady Jane intends Lord William for Caroline, and he is an
excellent catch, but he is very shy, and Caroline notices his inclinations, but
realizes that she can only love the count; Caroline practices what she preaches
(avoidance of coquetry) and gently discourages Lord William, eventually telling
him that she loves another; Lady Jane is angry that Caroline refused Lord
William, especially since she will not get credit for the "conquest"
since it was all implicitly done
Then the count gets back and is all “I ain’t married” and
him and Caroline get hitched. YAY. And then Rosamond says yes to Mr. Temple.
Just as Caroline and the count are to leave for the
continent, Percy is arrested, Sir Robert Percy now seeks the past rents he had
agreed to relinquish in exchange for Percy-hall, and Percy would rather remain
in jail than have a friend give an exorbitant sum of money to bail him out;
Caroline and the count must be separated, as she remains with her father as he
is about to go to prison and the count returns to his country; Caroline and
Mrs. Percy stay with Percy in jail, while Erasmus and Rosamond stay with Lady
Jane; their steward visits Percys in jail and is shocked, but hears that jail
allows some liberty; Alfred brings the bad news that Percy's former agreement
with Sir Robert Percy was an agreement of honor and will not hold in court and
Percy will have to sell all of his possessions if Sir Robert wins; the count's
father dies and the French approach Germany; Temple is depressed, and Godfrey
is taken prisoner on his way home to England
Then the kerfuffle with the bread seals and Mrs. Falconer
and Lady Trent
And Alfred solves the deed puzzle when the sixpence inside
the seal is from a later date than the deed was signed, so the good Percy’s get
Percy Manor back. Robert Percy runs off…
Percy visits Oldborough; Oldborough is preparing his
memoirs, and the visit of Oldborough’s sister shows him the joys of a
"private" life, which he nevertheless endeavors to repress;
Oldborough receives a private letter delivered by a Neapolitan abbe, which is
from his wrongly discarded Italian wife; Oldborough has a son, who is in fact
Mr. Henry, and Percy describes Henry's adventures; Percy writes to Henry to
come to Clermont-park the next day on presumed business with Oldborough;
Oldborough recognizes Henry as his son and is overjoyed
Everything sort of ends happily
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