''Red Pottage'' is an 1899 novel by English author

Mary Cholmondeley Mary Cholmondeley ( ; 8 June 1859 – 15 July 1925) was an English novelist. Her bestseller '' Red Pottage'' satirised religious hypocrisy and the narrowness of country life. It was adapted as a silent film in 1918. Family Mary Cholmondeley w ...

The subject of the novel

''Red Pottage'' follows a period in the lives of two friends, Rachel West and Hester Gresley. Rachel is a wealthy heiress who falls in love with the weak-willed Hugh Scarlett after he has broken off an affair with Lady Newhaven (which he does not originally realise has been discovered by her husband). Hester, a novelist, lives with her judgmental brother, the pompous vicar of the fictional village of Warpington. Hester's brother disapproves of her writing and eventually burns the manuscript of a novel she has been writing. This leads Hester into a prolonged nervous illness. Scarlett who has not been entirely frank with Rachel about his past commits suicide when his dishonourable behaviour is revealed to her and she breaks off their engagement.

History

''Red Pottage'' caused a scandal when it was first published, in 1899, due to its themes of

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

, the

emancipation of women Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and its satire of the clergy. It was adapted into a

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

in 1918 by

Meyrick Milton Meyrick is a surname and a masculine given name. Meyricke is a variant form. Surname * Denzil Meyrick (1965–2025), Scottish novelist * Edmund Meyrick (1636–1713), Welsh cleric * Edward Meyrick (1854–1938), English schoolmaster and amateur ...

starring C. Aubrey Smith,

Mary Dibley Mary Dibley (21 February 1883 in London – 11 September 1968) was a British film actress. She was married to the actor Gerald Ames. Selected filmography * '' The Christian'' (1915) * '' The Shulamite'' (1915) * '' Sally in Our Alley'' (1916) * ...

and

Gerald Ames Gerald Ames (12 September 1880 – 2 July 1933) was a British actor, film director and Olympic fencer. Ames was born in Blackheath, London in 1880 and first took up acting in 1905. He was a popular leading man in the post-First World War cinema ...

.BFI.org
/ref> The novel has been republished several times since the 1960s.

References

External links

''Red Pottage''
free e-text at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

* 1899 British novels English novels British novels adapted into films {{1890s-novel-stub

The subject of the novel

History

See also

References

External links