Product Description

In The Old Manor House (1794), Charlotte Smith combines elements of the romance, the Gothic, recent history, and culture to produce both a social document and a compelling novel. A "property romance," the love story of Orlando and Monimia revolves around the Manor House as inheritable property. In situating their romance as dependent on the whims of property owners, Smith critiques a society in love with money at the expense of its most vulnerable members, the dispossessed.

Appendices in this edition include: contemporary responses; writings on the genre debate by Anna Letitia Barbauld, John Moore, and Walter Scott; and historical documents focusing on property laws as well as the American and French revolutions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1847050 in Books
• Published on: 1987-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 516 pages

Angela Keane, University of Sheffield
"Labbe’s celebratory introduction to The Old Manor House emphasizes Charlotte Smith’s literary modernity...This is another excellent Broadview edition."

Theresa M. Kelley, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"Labbe's new edition creates a valuable array of supplementary documents for reading this novel."

From the Publisher
The Broadview Editions series is an effort to represent the ever-changing canon of literature in English by bringing together texts long regarded as classics with valuable, lesser-known literature. Newly type-set and produced on high-quality paper in trade paperback format, the Broadview Editions series is a delight to handle as well as to read.

Each volume includes a full introduction, chronology, bibliography, and explanatory notes along with a variety of documents from the period, giving readers a rich sense of the world from which the work emerged.

Customer Reviews

More romance from Smith
I love this novel. One of the most interesting aspects is the section where Orlando travels to America to fight in the American War of Independence. The plot gets a bit ropey towards the end, with the certain matter of a will and Mrs Lennard, but overall it's great. Mrs Rayland, Orlando and General Tracy are all excellently drawn. Jacqueline Labbe's introduction is also helpful.