English Literature in the Second Half of the 18th Century

    The Bride of Lammermoor ['læməmuə] (1819) and The Legend of Montrose (1819) have the 17th century background. Ivanhoe ['aivənhəu] (1820) deals with the English history of the 12th century. The Monastery (1820), The Abbot and Kenilworth ['kenilwe:θ] (1821) describe the times of Mary Stuart and Queen Elizabeth. Quentin Durward (1823) refers to the reign of Louis [lui] XI in France.

     Misfortune struck the great novelist in 1825—1826: the publishing firm, where he had been partner went bankrupt. Walter Scott had to pay a large sum of money. This affected his health and he died on September 21, 1832 at his estate in Abbotsford. Walter Scott was buried at Dryburgh Abbey.

     Walter Scott was the creator of the historical novel in English literature. He realized that it was the ordinary people who were the makers of history and the past was not cut off from the present but influenced it. This romantic love of the past made him create rich historical canvases with landscape and nature descriptions, as well as picturesque details of past ages. His descriptions of the life, customs and habits of the people are realistic. We can agree with Belinsky that the reader of Scott's novels becomes, in a way, a contemporary of the epoch and a citizen of the country in which the events of the novel take place.

1. Give a brief account of Walter Scott's life. 

2. What were the main historical themes he wrote about in his novels?

3. What is the contribution of Walter Scott to the development of the historical novel in English literature? 

Jane Austen  (1775-1817)

     Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in the Hampshire village of Steventon, where her father, the Rev. (reverend) George Austen, was rector. She was the second daughter and seventh child in the family of eight: six boys and two girls. Her closest companion was her elder sister.

     Austen's earliest known writings date from 1787, and between then and 1795 she wrote a large body of material that was collected in three manuscript notebooks: Volume the First, Volume the Second, and Volume the Third. In all, these contain 21 items: plays, verses, short novels, and other prose.

     In 1793 — 1794 Jane Austen wrote a short novel-in-letters Lady Susan. Jane was a girl of seventeen. Some of the letters tell of her enjoyment of local parties and dances in Hampshire, of visits to London, Bath, Southampton, Kent and to seaside resorts in Devon and Dorset.

    Sense and Sensibility was begun about 1795 as a novel-in-letters called Elinor and Marianne after its heroines. She contrasted two sisters: Elinor who is rational and self-controlled, and Marianne who is more emotional. Between October 1796 and August 1797 she completed the first version of Pride and Prejudice. Northanger Abbey was written in about 1798— 1799. In 1811 she began her novel Mansfield Park. Between January 1814 and March 1815 she wrote Emma.

     Jane Austen's novels are deeply concerned with love and marriage. The novels provide indisputable evidence that the author understood the experience of love and of love disappointed. This observation relates most obviously to her last novel Persuasion (1815—1816). The years after 1811 seem to have been the most rewarding of her life. She had the satisfaction of seeing her work in print and well reviewed and of knowing that the novels were widely read. The reviewers praised the novels for their moral entertainment, admired the character drawing, and welcomed the homely realism. Although Jane Austen preserved her anonymity and avoided literary circles, she knew about the reception of her novels.

 Jane Austin is different from other writers of her time, because her main interest is in the moral, social and psychological behaviour of her characters. She writes mainly about young heroines as they grow up and search for personal happiness. She does not write about the social and political issues, but her observations of people apply to human nature in general.

 Modern critics are fascinated by the structure and organization of the novels, by the realistic description of unremarkable people in the unremarkable situations of everyday life.

  Question: 1) What family did Jane Austen come from? 2) Name Jane Austen’s notable novels.