Fashionable novels, also called silver-fork novels, were a

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genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

that depicted the lives of the upper class and the aristocracy.

Era

The silver-fork novels dominated the English literature market from the mid-1820s to the mid-1840s. They were often indiscreet, and on occasion "

keys Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...

" would circulate that identified the real people on which the principal characters were based. Their emphasis on the relations of the sexes and on marital relationships presaged later development in the novel.

Genre and satire of the genre

Theodore Hook Theodore Edward Hook (22 September 1788 – 24 August 1841) was an English Intellectual, man of letters and composer and briefly a civil servant in Mauritius. He is best known for his practical jokes, particularly the Berners Street hoax in ...

was a major writer of fashionable novels, and

Henry Colburn Henry Colburn (1784 – 16 August 1855) was a British publisher. Life Virtually nothing is known about Henry Colburn's parentage or early life, and there is uncertainty over his year of birth. He was well-educated and fluent in French and h ...

was a major publisher. Colburn particularly advertised fashionable novels as providing insight into aristocratic life by insiders.

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (; 25 May 1803 – 18 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secr ...

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

and

Catherine Gore Catherine Grace Frances Gore (''née'' Moody; 12 February 1798 – 29 January 1861), was a prolific English novelist and dramatist. The daughter of a wine merchant from Retford, Nottinghamshire, she became among the best known of the silver fork ...

were other very popular writers of the genre. Many were advertised as being written by aristocrats, for aristocrats. As more women wrote the genre, it became increasingly moralized: "middle-class morality became central, and the novels detailed the demise of the aristocracy, though the characteristically Byronic heroes of the genre remained." The most popular authors of silver fork novels were women, including Lady Blessington,

and Lady Bury.

William Hazlitt William Hazlitt (10 April 177818 September 1830) was an English essayist, drama and literary criticism, literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history ...

coined the term "silver fork" in an article on "The Dandy School" in 1827. He characterized them as having "under-bred tone" because while they purported to tell the lives of aristocrats, they were commonly written by the middle-class.

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

wrote ''

Sartor Resartus ''Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh in Three Books'' is a novel by the Scottish people, Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, first published as a serial in ''Fraser's Magazine'' in November 1833 ...

'' in critique of their minute detailing of clothing, and

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...

satirized them in '' Vanity Fair'' and ''

Pendennis ''The History of Pendennis: His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Greatest Enemy'' (1848–50) is a novel by the English author William Makepeace Thackeray. It is set in 19th-century England, particularly in London. The main ...

''.

In modern culture

Donna Leon Donna Leon (; born September 28, 1942) is the American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice, Italy, featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti. The novels are written in English and have been translated into many forei ...

's fourth Commissario Guido Brunetti novel, ''Death and Judgment'', English professor Paola Brunetti describes silver-fork novels as "books written in the eighteenth century, when all that money poured into England from the colonies, and the fat wives of Yorkshire weavers had to be taught which fork to use."

Notable novels

* ''

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...

'' by Lord Normanby (1825) * ''

Vivian Grey ''Vivian Grey'' is Benjamin Disraeli's first novel, published by Henry Colburn in 1826. Originally published anonymously, ostensibly by a so-called "man of fashion", part 1 caused a considerable sensation in London society. Contemporary reviewe ...

'' by

(1826) * '' Granby'' by

Thomas Henry Lister Thomas Henry Lister (1800 – 5 June 1842) was an English novelist and biographer, and served as Registrar General in the British civil service. He was an early exponent of the silver fork novel as a genre and also presaged "futuristic" writing ...

(1826) * '' Flirtation'' by

Lady Charlotte Bury Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Bury (née Campbell; 28 January 1775 – 1 April 1861) was an English novelist, who is chiefly remembered in connection with a ''Diary illustrative of the Times of George IV'' (1838). Early life Lady Charlotte Susan ...

(1827) * ''

The Disowned ''The Disowned'' is a novel by the British writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton, originally published in three volumes. It is part of the then-popular genre of silver fork novels, focusing on British high society of the late Regency era. Like many other s ...

'' by

(1828) * '' Pelham'' by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1828) * ''

Herbert Lacy ''Herbert Lacy'' is an 1828 novel by the British writer Thomas Henry Lister, originally published in three volumes. It was part of the then-popular genre of silver fork novels depicting life in the high society of late Regency Britain. It was hi ...

'' by Thomas Henry Lister (1828) * '' De Lisle'' by

Elizabeth Caroline Grey Elizabeth Caroline Grey (1798–1869), aka Mrs. Colonel Grey or Mrs. Grey, was a prolific English author of over 30 romance novels, silver fork novels, Gothic novels, sensation fiction and Penny Dreadfuls, active between the 1820s and 1867. T ...

(1828) * ''

Yes and No ''Yes'' and ''no'', or similar word pairs, are expressions of the affirmative and the negative, respectively, in several languages, including English. Some languages make a distinction between answers to affirmative versus negative questions ...

'' by Lord Normanby (1828) *'' The Exclusives'' by Lady Charlotte Bury (1830) * '' The Separation'' by Lady Charlotte Bury (1830) * '' Women as They Are'' by

(1830) * '' Pin Money'' by Catherine Gore (1831) * '' The Young Duke'' by Benjamin Disraeli (1831) * '' The Opera'' by Catherine Gore (1832) * '' The Fair of Mayfair'' by Catherine Gore (1832) * ''Arlington'' by Thomas Henry Lister (1832) * '' The Contrast'' by Lord Normanby (1832) * '' Godolphin'' by

(1833) *''Love and Pride'' by

(1833) * ''Gilbert Gurney'' by Theodore Hook (1835) * ''The Devoted'' by Lady Charlotte Bury (1836) * '' Mrs. Armytage'' by Catherine Gore (1836) * ''

Henrietta Temple ''Henrietta Temple'' is the ninth novel written by Benjamin Disraeli, who would later become a Prime Minister of Britain. Background Disraeli wrote the first volume of ''Henrietta Temple'' in 1833 at the start of his affair with Henrietta Syke ...

'' by Benjamin Disraeli (1837) * '' The Cabinet Minister'' by Catherine Gore (1839) * '' Cecil'' by Catherine Gore (1841)

Era

Genre and satire of the genre

In modern culture

Notable novels

See also

References

Further reading