Evan Harrington

Evan Harrington is an 1861 novel by George Meredith, a glowing comedy of Victorian presumptions.

First edition title page

Setting and plot

The second of Meredith's 'mainstream' novels, the work is loosely autobiographical in inspiration;[1] and concerns the social climbing family (three married daughters; one unmarried son) of the recently deceased tailor, Melchisedec (The Great Mel) Harrington.[2]

Characters

Two of Meredith's most notable comic creations - The Great Mel and his daughter Louisa, the scheming Countess of Saldar - appear in the book.[3] Among lesser comic figures are Jack Raikes and Mr Parsley.[4]

The love interest of the hero, Evan - who is urged up the social ladder by his three sisters - is Rose Jocelyn:[5] she was taken as the epitome of mid-Victorian womanhood by the scholar Henry Sidgwick.[6]

See also

References
  1. D Daiches ed., Companion to Literature 1 (London 1963) p. 358
  2. I Ousby ed., Cambridge Guide to Literature in English (Cambridge 1995) p. 312
  3. D Daiches ed., Companion to Literature 1 (London 1963) p. 358
  4. I Ousby ed., Cambridge Guide to Literature in English (Cambridge 1995) p. 312
  5. I Ousby ed., Cambridge Guide to Literature in English (Cambridge 1995) p. 312
  6. G M Young, Victorian England (London 1964) p. 155


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