CMP #214: Mrs. Foster has thoughts: review of Light and Shade, 1803 
​  Of the several thousand novels published during the long eighteenth century, The Woman of Colour has a special place in the hearts of the academy because the protagonist is a woman of colour. I reviewed the novel here. Some academics speculate that the author of The Woman of Colour might actually be a woman of colour. I will weigh up the case for that, but Mrs. E.M. Foster and Mrs. E.G. Bayfield are the top candidates for the answer to the question: “who wrote The Woman of Colour”? The answer isn't clear because Foster and Bayfield have been attributed as authors of the same titles. For example, Bayfield and not Foster is listed as the author of Light and Shade in some references.
   Therefore, I am following the tangled trail of title page attributions and—here’s a novel thought—actually reading the books authored by Foster and Bayfield to look for similarities with The Woman of Colour in language, plot, tropes, and themes...

​   In my previous post, I introduced a discussion of the forgotten novel Rosella, or, Modern Occurrences (1799) by Mary Charlton. This novel is a good candidate for books to read when you've read everything Austen wrote and want more. In the last post I went over the prologue of the book which sets up the premise for the story: this is about two good friends, Sophia and Selina, who are deluded novel-readers. Sophia is a widow, Selina is married to a grouchy old attorney, so they live their lives vicariously through Sophia's unacknowledged daughter, Rosella Montresor.
   Sophia Beauclerc, having buried both of her parents, is a wealthy heiress. For the sake of her Gothic romance fantasies, she is fortunate that her estate outside of London is next door to the stately home of an unmarried nobleman! Rosella doesn’t realize that when Sophia sends her to walk or ride in the neighbourhood, or play her harp and sing in the hermitage rather than in the parlor, it is all with the intention of catching Lord Morteyne’s eye and ear. What happens instead is that a gang of “men of fashion” burst drunkenly on to the property in quest of the beautiful songstress. In the process of frightening Rosella with their loud admiration, her harp is badly damaged.
   The harp disappears, and before long, a beautiful new harp is mysteriously delivered, rather like the pianoforte that shows up in Highbury in Emma. Rosella assumes it’s a generous gift from her dear friend Miss Beauclerc. The reader, or at least this reader, assumed that Lord Morteyne was honourably taking responsibility for the boorish behavior of his guests. Sophia and her friend Selina believe that it’s proof that his Lordship is smitten with Rosella. 

    ​Well, I’ve read over a hundred novels of the long 18th century, and I think I’d put Rosella, or Modern Occurrences at the top of the list for readability because of author Mary Charlton's humorous and knowing voice. I’ll be making more than one comparison to Austen here—Charlton is not quite in the same tier as Austen, but she combines a traditional marriage-plot novel with plenty of wry humour. This is because Rosella, at least in some aspects, is a parody. Yes, she pokes a lot of fun at Gothic novels along the way, but we still have a satisfying love match between a likeable hero and heroine, a love story which takes place in the real world, not in the elevated sentimental world of the 18th century novel. Her views of society and morality are the conventional views, but the story is energetic and fresh and often funny. 
      Rosella was such a revelation to me that I'll be posting multiple posts and quoting liberally from it, to give you a flavour of Charlton's writing. 
     Rosella is the titular heroine of this four volume novel, but first I want to look at the prologue contained in the opening chapters of the novel. It is this story which sets up the parodic pattern and also the basic premise—Rosella the heroine must contend, often unknowingly, with the efforts of two deluded older women who try to mold her into a Gothic heroine and who throw her into heroine-like situations which only create difficulties for her...

     In my previous blog post, I gave a synopsis of Volume I of Selina Davenport's four-volume epic The Sons of the Viscount and the Daughters of the Earl (1813). That post lays out the scandalous events that led to a lasting feud between the Fortescues and the De Courcis. Viscount Fortescue sternly forbids his two sons and his daughter to have anything to do with the De Courcis, which is unfortunate, as each of them is in love with a member of the De Courci family.
    Meanwhile, Emma, Lady Desmond, formerly Emma De Courci, is back from Ireland. She had to give up her first love, none other than Viscount Fortescue. Now that she is a widow and he is a widower, you would think they'd fly to each other's arms. Or at least meet for lunch. But no. As she explains (?) to her son Robert, "I will never obtrude myself on the notice of the Viscount.”
   Nor will Viscount Fortescue obtrude himself on her notice because.... because.... oh, it's because he's obeying the edict of his late father, who told him to never speak to a De Courci again. Even though dad is long gone, he won't break his promise. So that's our impediment.
    As a result of the feud, Emma's son Robert, Lord Desmond, pines in vain for the lovely Cecil Fortescue.  His uncle, the current Earl Fortescue, hoped Robert would marry his ward and niece Angeline. (If it's confusing for you, check out the family tree after the break). But no, there's no spark there between the cousins. they are just very good friends and they hang out together. Angeline is quietly and decorously pining for Henry Fortescue, a married man.