The Children of the Abbey

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The Children of the Abbey
The Children of the Abbey title page.jpg
First edition title page
Author Regina Maria Roche
LanguageEnglish
Genre Gothic novel
Publisher Minerva Press
Publication date
6 July 1796 (1796-07-06) [1]
Publication placeEngland
Media typePrint (Hardcover)

The Children of the Abbey is a novel by the Irish romantic novelist Regina Maria Roche. It first appeared in 1796, in London in 4 volumes, and related the tale of Amanda and Oscar Fitzalan, two siblings robbed of their rightful inheritance by a forged will. The book contains many standard Gothic elements (old mansions, a haunted abbey) in the context of a sentimental novel. It was Roche's third and best-known novel, and was a major commercial success, remaining in print for most of the 19th century. The book is referenced in a number of other works, including Jane Austen's novel Emma , Emily Climbs by L. M. Montgomery, and Arabella by Georgette Heyer.

Contents

History

The Children of the Abbey is a novel by the Irish romantic novelist Regina Maria Roche. [2] It first appeared in 1796, in London in 4 volumes, and related the tale of Amanda and Oscar Fitzalan, two siblings robbed of their rightful inheritance by a forged will. [2] The book contains many standard Gothic elements (old mansions, a haunted abbey) in the context of a sentimental novel. [3]

The Children of the Abbey was Roche's third novel, it was a major commercial success, remaining in print for most of the 19th century. [3] Such was the popularity of the novel, it reached a tenth edition by 1825. [4] Scholars have since disagreed over whether the novel can be considered as pro-Catholic or not. [5]

The Children of the Abbey was mentioned in Jane Austen's popular novel Emma , in Emily Climbs by L. M. Montgomery, and in 'Arabella' by Georgette Heyer. It is also referenced in the artículo costumbrista "El casarse pronto y mal" by the Spanish Romantic Mariano José de Larra, 1832. American essayist and Unitarian divine Samuel McChord Crothers portrayed The Children of the Abbey as having given rise to "a regiment of Amandas named after the best seller of the day" around the year 1800. [6]

References

  1. ↑ "This day is published, in 4 Vols. 12mo, price 14s, sewed, The Children of the Abbey by Regina Maria Roche". The Times. 6 July 1796. p. 2.
  2. 1 2 "Book Page: The Children of the Abbey: a Tale". Corvey Women Writers on the Web. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  3. 1 2 Ernst, Brennan (4 April 2021). "Regina Maria Roche: The Children of the Abbey". editions.covecollective.org.
  4. ↑ "Maria Regina Roche (c. 1764 - 1845)" (PDF). Chawton House . 2012. p. 3.
  5. ↑ Hoeveler, Diane (1 April 2012). "Regina Maria Roche's The Children of the Abbey: Contesting the Catholic Presence in Female Gothic Fiction". Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature.
  6. ↑ Crothers, Samuel McChord (18 October 1923). "The Cheerful Giver: Essays". Houghton Mifflin – via Google Books.
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