The Silver-Fork Novel

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Angela Tse (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Domains

Literature Topic

Dates

Places

England (Location)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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The silver-fork novel flourished between the mid-1820s and the 1840s, offering a rich portrayal of contemporary fashionable life. The name of the genre comes from the essay “The Dandy School” by William Hazlitt, published in

The Examiner

in 1827:

A writer of this accomplished stamp, comes forward to tell you, not how his hero feels on any occasion, for he is above that, but how he was dressed, and makes him a mere lay-figure of fashion with a few pert, current phrases in his mouth. … Then he gives you the address of his heroine’s milliner, lest any shocking surmise should arise in your mind of the possibility of her dealing with a person of less approved taste, and also informs you that the quality eat fish with silver forks. This is all he knows about the matter: is this all they

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2989 words

Citation: Tse, Angela. "The Silver-Fork Novel". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 October 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19315, accessed 26 November 2024.]