''The Separation'' is an 1830 novel by the British writer
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 ...
, published in three volumes. It falls into the tradition of
silver fork novels, popular at the time. It was published in New York City by
Harper
Harper may refer to:
Names
* Harper (name), a surname and given name and place names, for example: Harper Islands, Nunavut.
Places
;in Canada
* Harper Islands, Nunavut
* Harper, Prince Edward Island
;In the United States
*Harper, former name ...
the same year in two rather than three volumes. It was published anonymously, although Bury's authorship was widely known. A reviewer attacked it for recycling the plot entirely from Bury's 1812 novel ''Self-indulgence'', although the resulting publicity seemed to help the novel's sales.
Synopsis
Lord Fitzharris, a London
dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...
, falls in loves with and marries a
penniless Frenchwoman Lenora while travelling on the
Continent
A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...
. Realising that his marriage to a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Frenchwoman will not be appreciated by his family, whose fortunes depend on him marrying a wealthy woman, he abandons Lenora and his young son in England after a failed attempt at persuading a friend to take her on as his
mistress
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man
** Royal mistress
* Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...
. He then commits
bigamy
In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their mar ...
by marrying the daughter of a wealthy merchant living in
Grosvenor Square
Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...
. His new wife proves to be a kinder and more moral person than her Fitzharris. After discovering about the now ill Lenora she tends to the Frenchwoman on her deathbed, and then adopts the son as her own. Lord Fitzharris seems to have learned little from the experience, and his repentance is shallow.
[Copeland p.187]
References
Bibliography
* Copeland, Edward. ''The Silver Fork Novel: Fashionable Fiction in the Age of Reform''. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
* Mitchell, Charles & Mitchell, Paul. ''Landmark Cases in the Law of Restitution''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2006.
1830 British novels
Novels set in France
Novels set in London
Novels by Lady Charlotte Bury
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