Maria Edgeworth, Belinda

Sharon Jude Murphy (St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra)

Ed. by Ian Campbell Ross, Trinity College Dublin
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University), Emily Rohrbach (University of Durham)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1801

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) was already the celebrated author of essays, tales for children, works on education, and an Irish tale by the time she published

Belinda

(1801), her first novel of manners. In the advertisement with which she preceded her work, she described it as “a Moral Tale – the author not wishing to acknowledge a Novel. … [S]o much folly, errour, and vice are disseminated in books classed under this denomination, that it is hoped the wish to assume another title will be attributed to feelings that are laudable, and not fastidious”. Edgeworth's reluctance to describe

Belinda

as a novel is significant for many reasons, and not least because it is curiously reflective of the several anxieties that coalesced around both the reading and writing of fiction at this…

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1394 words

Citation: Murphy, Sharon Jude. "Belinda". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 May 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6385, accessed 22 November 2024.]

Maria Edgeworth, Belinda

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