A Simple Story (novel)
Encyclopedia
A Simple Story is a romance novel
by English author
and actress, Elizabeth Inchbald
. Published in early 1791 as an early example of a "novel of passion", it was very successful and became widely read in England and abroad. It went into a second edition in March 1791. It is still popular today.
The book is divided into two plots. The first follows the love story of young Miss Milner and her guardian Dorriforth, a Roman Catholic priest
. The second half of the novel is about the troubled relationship of Dorriforth and his daughter Matilda after Miss Milner's adulterous affair
after their marriage
.
It examines the issues of the education of women, Catholicism, theatricality
(A Simple Story attempted, to a certain point, to merge the novel and the play), sensibility, and gender roles.
, a novelist and educational philosopher, wrote a letter to Elizabeth Inchbald, in which she warmly praised the story, saying that she had "never read any novel—I except none—I never read any novel that affected me so strongly, or that so completely possessed me with the belief in the real existence of all the people it represents".
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
by English author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and actress, Elizabeth Inchbald
Elizabeth Inchbald
Elizabeth Inchbald was an English novelist, actress, and dramatist.- Life :Born on 15 October 1753 at Standingfield, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, Elizabeth was the eighth of the nine children of John Simpson , a farmer, and his wife Mary, née Rushbrook. The family, like several others in the...
. Published in early 1791 as an early example of a "novel of passion", it was very successful and became widely read in England and abroad. It went into a second edition in March 1791. It is still popular today.
The book is divided into two plots. The first follows the love story of young Miss Milner and her guardian Dorriforth, a Roman Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. The second half of the novel is about the troubled relationship of Dorriforth and his daughter Matilda after Miss Milner's adulterous affair
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
after their marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
.
It examines the issues of the education of women, Catholicism, theatricality
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
(A Simple Story attempted, to a certain point, to merge the novel and the play), sensibility, and gender roles.
Reception
The general reception of A Simple Story was favorable. Maria EdgeworthMaria Edgeworth
Maria Edgeworth was a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe...
, a novelist and educational philosopher, wrote a letter to Elizabeth Inchbald, in which she warmly praised the story, saying that she had "never read any novel—I except none—I never read any novel that affected me so strongly, or that so completely possessed me with the belief in the real existence of all the people it represents".