The Manxman is a novel by Hall Caine, first appearing as a serial in The Queen, The Lady's Newspaper and Court Chronicle between January and July 1894. Published as one volume in August 1894 by Heinemann, The Manxman ended the system of three-volume novels. A highly popular novel of its period, it was set in the Isle of Man and concerned a romantic triangle. The novel has as its central themes, the mounting consequences of sin and the saving grace of simple human goodness.[2][3]
The novel concerns the love triangle between Kate Cregeen and the two good friends and cousins, the illegitimate, poorly educated but good-hearted Peter Quilliam, and the well-educated and cultured Philip Christian. Kate's father rejects Pete's request to marry his daughter, due to his low prospects, and so Pete sets off to Kimberly, South Africa, to earn his fortune. He leaves Philip in charge of looking after Kate in his absence.
Part II
As Kate matures into an adult woman and Philip rises to become the foremost young lawyer in the island, they begin to fall in love. This is first openly spoken of between them when they hear rumours that Pete has died in Africa. However, the course of their love is still not open as Philip has to choose between worldly success and the position as Deemster, or his love of the lower class Kate. Feeling this push them apart, Kate "is driven to an effort to hold on to the man whom life is tearing away from her by making a mistaken appeal to his love."[2]
Part III
Pete returns to the island with a fortune fit to have his marriage proposal accepted by Kate's parents, while Kate is bed-ridden recovering from an illness brought about by Philip's breaking with her to stay true to his promise to Pete. Remaining unaware of anything between Philip and Kate, Pete arranges for the wedding, which Kate goes through with in a confused daze.
Ramsey harbour not long after the time that Hall Caine wrote The Manxman
Part IV
Kate gives birth to a daughter which she realises is Philip’s. This fact, along with the reason for Kate's displeasure at the marriage, remains hidden to Pete, who proves himself to be a good and doting husband. When Kate informs Philip of the paternity of the baby girl, they arrange for her to live with him in secret. She leaves Pete's house to go to Philip on the evening when Pete is at the head of the crowd honouring Philip on his return to Ramsey, having been made Deemster.
Part V
Heart-broken at the disappearance of Kate, Pete looks to keep her memory in honour by pretending that she has gone to Liverpool to stay with a fictional uncle. To maintain this lie against the gossip of the town, Pete multiplies his lies in beginning to fake a written correspondence between Kate and himself. As Philip watches his friend's pathetic pretence, he feels the weight of his deceit, which causes him to take to drink and to pull away from Kate who has been secretly installed in his house. This situation continues until Kate leaves Philip so that he is relieved of his wretched situation.
Part VI
With Pete's fortune used up, his deception with the letters is found out and Kate is universally thought of as a fallen woman by everyone but Pete. Meanwhile, the child falls sick, the news of which reaches Kate where she had fled, in London. She returns to see the child where she again meets Pete before throwing herself into the harbour, attempting to end her shameful life. However, she is saved and immediately brought before the Deemster, Philip, to be tried. Philip realises who she is as he commits her to the prison in Castletown, and then faints. Whilst still in a swoon he is taken to Pete's house, where Pete hears Philip's feverish and unconscious confessions. However, instead of wreaking vengeance on Philip and Kate, Pete "realises that he alone is the person in the way, and therefore wipes himself out in order that the woman he loves may be happy."[2] So Pete determines to leave the island again, divorcing Kate before he goes and leaving Philip with the child and his best wishes. Philip then overcomes his final temptation, to take up the position of Governor, and confesses everything publicly and so unburdens himself. The final scene sees him retrieving Kate from prison to start life afresh.
Style
The novel is notable for its regular use of Manx dialect in speech. Peter Quilliam and the majority of the smaller characters in the novel speak in a colloquial manner unique to the Isle of Man, rendered truthfully in the novel through unusual spellings, unusual grammatical structure and even occasional Manx Gaelic words and phrases (all of which are explained in the text). An example of such a section of dialogue is as follows:
"Is it wanting to get done with me, you are, Pete?" she said in a quavering voice. "There’s my black – I can sell it for something – it’s never been wore at me since I sat through the service."[4]
Reception
The Prime Minister, Lord Rosebery, who observed of the novel that "It will rank with the great works of English literature".
The Manxman was one of Hall Caine's greatest successes, selling over half a million copies by 1913 and being translated into twelve languages.[5] It was also the fourth-best selling book in the United States in 1895.[6]
It was well received by critics and the public figures of the day. The Editor of The Scotsman called it "the most powerful story that has been written in the present generation. It is a work of genius."[7]T. P. O'Connor wrote that "The author of The Manxman belongs to the great elect of literature."[7] This view was also shared by the Prime Minister, Lord Rosebery, who observed of the novel that "It will rank with the great works of English literature".[5] It helped to establish the Isle of Man as one of the literary landscapes of Britain.[5] Another contemporary of Caine's, the fellow novelist George Gissing however, thought it "very poor".[8]
The novel created something of a sensation on the Isle of Man, though opinions on it were generally of outrage due to its apparent "coarseness."[1] This reception was enjoyed by Caine's friend, the Manx national poet, T. E. Brown, as can be seen in his letters:
“The island is all in a shiver about Hall Caine. 'Worse than Tess!' so they say. Ladies can't admit that they read The Manxman.”[9]
"Take The Manxman as a rapture, not a reality. It is not Manx or anything else that 'savours of the realty.' As well ask for a map of Prospero's Isle as a picture of the Isle of Man from The Manxman. Don't bother about that. Surrender yourself to the hurly-burly of splendour and get carried away, God knows where! [...] The dear old Manx folk are terribly puzzled, many of them quite outraged. 'Local colour' is knocked to smithereens (glorious smithereens!), anachronism runs riot [...]. Read and enjoy.”[10]
Adaptations
Advertising poster for the 1929 film adaption by Alfred Hitchcock
The novel was adapted twice for the stage. The initial play, written by Wilson Barrett with the title The Manxman, saw its first performance in the Grand Theatre, Leeds, on 22 August 1894, only three weeks after the publication of the book. After a regional tour, the play opened in the Shaftesbury Theatre in London with Lewis Walker in the lead role. However, it was so poorly received by the public and critics alike that it only last 13 performances.[11] On 5 March 1898 Wilson Barrett, Maud Jeffries along with their London company opened the play in Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, Australia.[12]
After a correspondence with George Bernard Shaw, Hall Caine himself then wrote a second version of the play in collaboration with Louis N. Parker. This version of the play, entitled Pete: A Drama in Four Acts featured Parker and his wife in the lead roles and proved to be a popular success.[11]
In Australia Maud Williamson dramatised the novel as A Woman's Sin.
The principle locations in the novel include the following:
Ramsey – The location of Pete and Kate's house, Philip's family home (in Ballure, which was considered to be distinct from Ramsey at the time of the novel), and most of the later action of the novel.
Sulby – The location of the parental home of Kate, and most of early action in the novel.
Douglas – The location of Philip's home in which he lives in secret with Kate (in Athol Street).
Peel – The location of various scenes concerning Pete and his time as a sailor.
Tynwald – The location of the confrontation between the sailors and the Governor, adjudicated by Philip (in Part V of the novel)
Castletown – The location of Kate's incarceration, and Philip's final confession in the courthouse.
↑ Coustillas, Pierre ed. London and the Life of Literature in Late Victorian England: the Diary of George Gissing, Novelist. Brighton: Harvester Press, 1978, p.343.
Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine, usually known as Hall Caine, was a British novelist, dramatist, short story writer, poet and critic of the late 19h and early 20th century. Caine's popularity during his lifetime was unprecedented. He wrote 15 novels on subjects of adultery, divorce, domestic violence, illegitimacy, infanticide, religious bigotry and women's rights, became an international literary celebrity, and sold a total of ten million books. Caine was the most highly paid novelist of his day. The Eternal City is the first novel to have sold over a million copies worldwide. In addition to his books, Caine is the author of more than a dozen plays and was one of the most commercially successful dramatists of his time; many were West End and Broadway productions. Caine adapted seven of his novels for the stage. He collaborated with leading actors and managers, including Wilson Barrett, Viola Allen, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Louis Napoleon Parker, Mrs Patrick Campbell, George Alexander, and Arthur Collins. Most of Caine's novels were adapted into silent black and white films. A. E. Coleby's 1923 18,454 feet, nineteen-reel film The Prodigal Son became the longest commercially made British film. Alfred Hitchcock's 1929 film The Manxman, is Hitchcock's last silent film.
The Manxman is a 1929 British silent romance film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Anny Ondra, Carl Brisson and Malcolm Keen. The film is based on a popular 1894 romantic novel The Manxman by Hall Caine, which had previously been made into a film 13 years earlier. It was the last fully silent production that Hitchcock directed before he made the transition to sound film with his next film Blackmail (1929).
Castletown is a town in the Isle of Man, geographically within the historical parish of Malew but administered separately. Lying at the south of the island, it was the Manx capital until 1869. The centre of town is dominated by Castle Rushen, a well-preserved medieval castle, originally built for a Viking king.
Captain John Quilliam was a Royal Navy officer who served as first lieutenant on HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. He was a farmer's son who was impressed into the Royal Navy in 1791.
A Deemster is a judge in the Isle of Man. The High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man is presided over by a deemster or, in the case of the appeal division of that court, a deemster and the Judge of Appeal. The deemsters also promulgate the Laws on Tynwald Day by reading out brief summaries of them in English and Manx.
Sir Derwent Hall Caine, 1st Baronet was a British actor, publisher and Labour then National Labour politician.
Government House is the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man. It is situated on Governor's Road in Onchan, Isle of Man. Government House is also used to provide accommodation for official guests to the Isle of Man, and is used extensively for official functions, such as receptions and dinners. The property has been the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor since 1863 and has been owned by Tynwald since 1903.
The Manxman is a 1916 British silent drama film directed by George Loane Tucker and starring Elisabeth Risdon, Henry Ainley and Fred Groves. It is based on the 1894 novel of the same name by Hall Caine. A second silent adaptation, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, was released in 1929.
The Master of Man: The Story of a Sin was a best-selling 1921 novel by Hall Caine. The fictional story is set on the Isle of Man and is concerned with Victor Stowell, the Deemster's son, who commits a romantic indiscretion and then gives up on all of his principles in order to keep it a secret. However, in the face of the mounting consequences, Victor confesses publicly to his crime and is punished, but redemption comes through a woman's love. The penultimate of Caine's novels, it is romantic and moralistic, returning to his regular themes of sin, justice and atonement, whilst also addressing "the woman question." It was adapted for a film entitled Name the Man in 1924 by Victor Sjöström.
The Woman of Knockaloe: A Parable is a melodramatic novel by Hall Caine first published in 1923. Set on the Isle of Man during the First World War, a young woman finds herself drawn to one of the nearby German internees. They begin a romance in the face of the fierce hostility of the local community which eventually drives them to commit suicide. The story has been described as a "minor masterpiece".
Christopher R. Shimmin (1870–1933), Manx playwright and MHK.
The Deemster is a novel by Hall Caine published in 1887, considered to be the first 'Manx novel'. It was Caine's third novel, the second to be set in the Isle of Man and it was his first great success. The plot revolves around the reckless actions of Dan Mylrea and the exile and atonement that follow.
The Bondman is an 1890 best-selling novel by Hall Caine set in the Isle of Man and Iceland. It was the first novel to be released by the newly established Heinemann publishing company. It was a phenomenal success and was later adapted into a successful play and two silent films.
Kathleen Faragher (1904–1974) was the most significant and prolific Manx dialect writer of the mid twentieth century. She is best known for her poems first published in the Ramsey Courier and collected into five books published between 1955 and 1967. She was also a prolific short story writer and playwright. Her work is renowned for its humour born of a keen observation of Manx characters, and for its evocative portrayal of the Isle of Man and its people.
The Michael Players are the oldest existing body of performers of Manx dialect theatre in the Isle of Man. They are centrally important to the continued tradition of Manx dialect theatre, both through their performances and in their unique collection of Manx plays.
Sir James Gell, was a Manx lawyer, who was the First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls in the Isle of Man. He was also the first Manxman to become Attorney General of the Isle of Man.
James Stowell Gell QC was a Manx advocate who became High Bailiff of both Castletown and Douglas, Isle of Man.
The Charm is a comic one-act Manx dialect play by Christopher R. Shimmin. It was first performed in 1912 by the Peel Players and it is considered to be one of the earliest and most frequently performed pieces in the Manx dialect repertoire.
George Quarrie was a Manx poet active in the 1880s–1910s, best known for his poem, The Melliah.
The Deemster is a 1917 American drama silent film, released by Arrow Film Corporation, directed by Howell Hansel, starring Derwent Hall Caine and Marian Swayne.
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