Dinah Craik - Complete Works of Dinah Craik

The Complete Works of

DINAH CRAIK

(1826-1887)

Contents

Delphi Classics 2020

Version 1

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The Complete Works of

DINAH CRAIK

By Delphi Classics, 2020

with introductions by Gill Rossini

Complete Works of Dinah Craik

First published in the United Kingdom in 2020 by Delphi Classics.

Delphi Classics, 2020.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.

ISBN: 978 1 91348 733 1

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Explore the world of the Victorians

Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley, a city in Staffordshire Craiks birthplace

Victorian Hanley, the home of Englands pottery industry

The site of Craiks birthplace, Longfield Cottage, Hartshill. In 1969 The North Staffordshire Medical Research Institute was built here.

This novel was published by Chapman and Hall towards the end of 1849 and it was Craiks first full length novel for adults. The publisher had paid 150 for the copyright, a substantial payment for a female author in her twenties and still learning her craft. Her inspiration was the literary world in which she mixed in London, an upmarket world of polite, affluent and intelligent social connections. A work of fiction based on the beau monde of society, it is sometimes referred to as a silver fork novel.

The story opens with the appearance of sixteen-year-old Katharine Ogilvie attending her first society party a literary soire as an adult. Although the girl is now regarded as of courting age, she is still half child, half woman: the graceful frankness of childhood is lost and the calm dignity of womanhood has not yet been gained. Somewhat unkindly, the narrator compares the girls tall, slim appearance to a lettuce run to seed. Her complexion is sallow, which distracts from her pleasing features and her dark hair is neat and plentiful; but her most beautiful feature is her eyes, which are large, lustrous and expressive, shaded by long luxurious lashes. Katharine is an only child, who has a sheltered upbringing due to her delicate health, spent either as a solitary child or in the company or her cousin Hugh and his sister. Sometimes lonely, she lives through her imagination, with imaginary friends gleaned from the characters of the stories she has read. As she grows older she develops a romantic hero-worship for the poet, Keats, but as she finally leaves childhood behind, she looks forward to companionship of a more adult and romantic nature however, this is something she can only achieve if she overcomes her shyness.

The evening event to which Katharine, her parents and cousin Hugh have been invited is dazzling to the young girl and she watches the actions and reactions of both hostess and guests with curiosity. Most of the men there are a disappointment to her as they do not resemble the heroes of the many stories she has read except for one, a tall and graceful man with a calm demeanour and expressive face, dressed elegantly, but simply unlike the other male guests. This captivating man is Mr Paul Lynedon, the son of a cotton manufacturer, who has ambitions to enter parliament. To her almost indescribable delight, Lynedon is invited to her home for a visit and Katharine begins to bestow upon him the attributes of the literary heroes she has loved in the past. Her cousin Eleanor, more grown-up in her thoughts, teases her gently: Is Mr Paul Lynedon, then, the only agreeable man in the world? Despite the fact that Lynedon is drawn more to Eleanor than her cousin, Katharine is increasingly infatuated with the cultured young man. Tragically, the house party is cut short by the death of Katharines grandfather, but she remains blind to Lynedons feelings for Eleanor and her own romantic attachment deepens.