Hard Cash (novel)

Last updated

Hard Cash
Author Charles Reade
GenreNovel
Publisher Sampson Low, Son & Marston (England)
Publication date
10 December 1863
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages3 vol. (original edition)

Hard Cash, A Matter-of-Fact Romance is an 1863 novel by Charles Reade. The novel is about the poor treatment of patients in private insane asylums, and was part of Reade's drive to reform and improve those institutions. [1]

Contents

Background

From later illustrated edition of novel Hard cash; a matter-of-fact romance (1814) (14779852454).jpg
From later illustrated edition of novel

It was originally serialised under the title Very Hard Cash in Charles Dickens' All the Year Round from 28 March to 26 December 1863, but the magazine's family readers blanched at Reade's strong attacks on asylums, so it did not perform well and actually depressed sales of the periodical. Dickens appended a note to the last instalment noting that the opinions of the work should be attributed to the author, not the periodical.

Reade's work did better when released (with some reordering and amendment of the text, less concerned with creating instalment cliffhangers) as Hard Cash in three-volume book form by Sampson Low in December 1863. [2] [3] [4] Reade sought £3,000 for the publishing rights, later accepted £2,250 for a limited term of years, but eventually only sold it via commissions from the publisher. Publisher Edward Marston later commented that "Reade was an excellent man of business, and was very careful of the commodity which furnished the title of his book." [5] [6]

In the United States, the book was serialised in Harper's Weekly , and then published in January 1864 by Harper & Brothers without the change in title. [7] [8]

Subsequent editions of the novel included some of the correspondence generated by physicians in response to the original publication.

Synopsis

A late nineteenth-century synopsis of the novel:

This book, originally published in 1863, as Very Hard Cash is an alleged “exposure” of the abuses of private insane asylums in England and of the statutes under which they were sheltered. The “Hard Cash” is the sum of £14,000, the earnings of years, of which Richard Hardie, a bankrupt banker, defrauds David Dodd, a sea-captain. Dodd has a cataleptic shock and goes insane on realizing his loss. Hardie's son Alfred loves Julia, Dodd's daughter. He detects his father's villainy, accuses him of it, and to insure his silence is consigned by his father to a private insane asylum. There he meets Dodd; a fire breaks out, and both escape. Dodd enlists and serves as a common seaman, appearing to be capable but half-witted, until a second cataleptic shock restores his reason, when he returns home. Alfred reaches his friends, and vindicates his sanity in a court of law. The receipt for the £14,000 is found, and the money recovered from the elder Hardie. The book properly divides itself into two parts. One embraces the maritime adventures of Dodd with pirates, storms, shipwreck, and highwaymen, while bringing his money home; and his subsequent service as a half-witted foremast-hand until his restoration to reason. The other covers Alfred's thrilling experiences as a sane man among the insane. The author's analysis of all kinds of insanity is very thorough: with Alfred are contrasted Captain Dodd and many asylum patients, introduced incidentally; also Maxley, a worthy man driven insane by the bank failure, and who kills Alfred's sister in a maniacal rage; Dr. Wycherley, the asylum manager, who has epileptic fits himself; Thomas Hardie, Alfred's uncle, who is weak-minded; and others. Dr. Sampson, the sturdy Scotch physician, who despises all regular practitioners, and comes to Alfred’s rescue at the crisis of the book, is one of Reade’s strongest and most original characters. The love scenes are tender and touching. Hard Cash is in some sense a sequel to Love me Little, Love me Long which relates the early history and marriage of Captain and Mrs. Dodd. This book caused much lively public correspondence between the author and various asylum managers, who felt themselves aggrieved, but failed, according to Reade, to shake the facts and arguments put forward in this book. [9]

Adaptations

The novel was adapted to film three times in the silent film era.

The first was in 1910 by Independent Moving Pictures Co. [10]

In 1913, a 2-reel American silent film was directed by Charles M. Seay for Edison Manufacturing Company, with a cast that included Charles Stanton Ogle, May Abbey, Gertrude McCoy, and Bigelow Cooper. [11] [12]

In 1921, a British silent-film was released, directed by Edwin J. Collins and starring Dick Webb, Alma Green, and Frank Arlton. [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>Oliver Twist</i> 1837–1839 novel by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress, is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, after being raised in a workhouse, escapes to London, where he meets a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the elderly criminal Fagin, discovers the secrets of his parentage, and reconnects with his remaining family.

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1853.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Reade</span> British novelist and dramatist

Charles Reade was a British novelist and dramatist, best known for The Cloister and the Hearth.

<i>Household Words</i> English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens in the 1850s

Household Words was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens in the 1850s. It took its name from the line in Shakespeare's Henry V: "Familiar in his mouth as household words."

<i>Peril at End House</i> 1932 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

Peril at End House is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by the Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1932 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6).

<i>The Pickwick Papers</i> 1836–1837 novel by Charles Dickens

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club was the first novel by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with Sketches by Boz published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to supply descriptions to explain a series of comic "cockney sporting plates" by illustrator Robert Seymour, and to connect them into a novel. The book became a publishing phenomenon, with bootleg copies, theatrical performances, Sam Weller joke books, and other merchandise. On its cultural impact, Nicholas Dames in The Atlantic writes, "'Literature' is not a big enough category for Pickwick. It defined its own, a new one that we have learned to call "entertainment." Published in 19 issues over 20 months, the success of The Pickwick Papers popularised serialised fiction and cliffhanger endings.

<i>All the Year Round</i> Magazine edited by Charles Dickens

All the Year Round was a Victorian periodical, being a British weekly literary magazine founded and owned by Charles Dickens, published between 1859 and 1895 throughout the United Kingdom. Edited by Dickens, it was the direct successor to his previous publication Household Words, abandoned due to differences with his former publisher.

<i>Hard Times</i> (novel) 1854 novel by Charles Dickens

Hard Times: For These Times is the tenth novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1854. The book surveys English society and satirises the social and economic conditions of the era.

<i>The Mystery of the Blue Train</i> 1928 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

The Mystery of the Blue Train is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by William Collins & Sons on 29 March 1928 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00. The book features her detective Hercule Poirot.

<i>They Came to Baghdad</i> 1951 adventure novel by Agatha Christie

They Came to Baghdad is an adventure novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 5 March 1951 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at eight shillings and sixpence (8/6) and the US edition at $2.50.

<i>A Tale of Two Cities</i> 1859 novel by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris, and his release to live in London with his daughter Lucie whom he had never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.

<i>The Cloister and the Hearth</i> 1861 novel by Charles Reade

The Cloister and the Hearth (1861) is a historical novel by the British author Charles Reade. Set in the 15th century, it relates the travels of a young scribe and illuminator, Gerard Eliassoen, through several European countries. The Cloister and the Hearth often describes the events, people and their practices in minute detail. Its main theme is the struggle between man's obligations to family and to Church.

<i>Harper</i> (film) 1966 film by Jack Smight

Harper is a 1966 American mystery film based on Ross Macdonald's 1949 novel The Moving Target and adapted for the screen by novelist William Goldman, who admired MacDonald's writings. The film stars Paul Newman as Lew Harper, and was directed by Jack Smight, with a cast that includes Robert Wagner, Julie Harris, Janet Leigh, Shelley Winters, Lauren Bacall, and Arthur Hill.

Put Yourself in His Place is a 1912 American silent short drama based on an 1870 English novel by Charles Reade. The film was adapted and directed by Theodore Marston, and stars William Garwood and Marguerite Snow in the lead roles.

<i>Robbery Under Arms</i> Australian novel by Rolf Boldrewood

Robbery Under Arms is a bushranger novel by Thomas Alexander Browne, published under his pen name Rolf Boldrewood. It was first published in serialised form by The Sydney Mail between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in London in 1888. It was abridged into a single volume in 1889 as part of Macmillan's one-volume Colonial Library series and has not been out of print since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serial (literature)</span> Publishing format by which a single literary work is presented in contiguous instalments

In literature, a serial is a printing or publishing format by which a single larger work, often a work of narrative fiction, is published in smaller, sequential instalments. The instalments are also known as numbers, parts, fascicules or fascicles, and may be released either as separate publications or within sequential issues of a periodical publication, such as a magazine or newspaper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sampson Low</span> British bookseller and publisher (1797–1886)

Sampson Low was a bookseller and publisher in London in the 19th century.

<i>Corduroy Mansions</i> Novel by Alexander McCall Smith

Corduroy Mansions is the first online novel by Alexander McCall Smith, author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. In the first series, the author wrote a chapter a day, starting on 15 Sep 2008, the series running for 20 weeks and totaling 100 episodes. The daily chapters, read by Andrew Sachs were also available as an audio download. The second and third series were published online, running from Monday 21 September 2009 and Monday 13 September 2010, respectively.

<i>The Old Curiosity Shop</i> (1934 film) 1934 British film

The Old Curiosity Shop is a 1934 British drama film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Elaine Benson, Ben Webster and Hay Petrie. It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1841 novel The Old Curiosity Shop.

Hard Cash may refer to:

References

  1. ↑ Subotsky, Fiona. Hard Cash (1863) Charles Reade – psychiatrists in 19th century fiction, in British Journal of Psychiatry , Feb 2009, 194 (3) 211
  2. ↑ Wynne D. The Sensation Novel and the Victorian Family Magazine]], pp. 132–44 (2001)
  3. ↑ Sutherland, john Victorian Fiction: Writers, Publishers, Readers, pp. 55–85 (2006 ed.)
  4. ↑ (5 December 1863). Advertisement, The Athenaeum No. 1884, p. 744 (advertisement by Sampson Low, Son & Marston, that Hard Cash would be released in three volume form on 10 December 1863)
  5. ↑ After Work: Fragments from the Workshop of an Old Publisher, p. 95 (1904)
  6. ↑ (26 December 1863). Book: Hard Cash (review), The Spectator , p. 15 (December 1863 review)
  7. ↑ Very Hard Cash (Harper & Brothers 1864)
  8. ↑ (24 January 1864). New Books, The New York Times (review of U.S. edition)
  9. ↑ Warner, Charles Dudley, et al., eds. Biographical Dictionary and Synopsis of Books, Vol. 2, p. 267-68 (1902 ed.)
  10. ↑ Moving Picture World Review, April 16, 1910, in IMDB
  11. ↑ (15 September 1913). Hard Cash, The Kinetogram
  12. ↑ Gmuer, Leonhard H. Rex Ingram: Hollywood's Rebel of the Silver Screen, pp. 269–74 (2013)
  13. ↑ Goble, Alan, ed. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film, p. 791 (1999)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.