The Adventures of Harry Richmond
Encyclopedia
The Adventures of Harry Richmond (1870
-71
) is a romance by British author George Meredith
, sometimes picaresque, sometimes melodramatic. It is believed to be strongly autobiographical in some sections. Meredith intended the book to be a popular success, but the roll-call of reprints shows it to have been so only during Meredith's late-Victorian
and Edwardian heyday, his highly-wrought style proving an obstacle for some readers.
that he was writing a work to be called The Adventure of Richmond Roy and his Friend, Contrivance Jack: Being the History of Two Rising Men. Since he was also working on the novels Rhoda Fleming and Vittoria in these years progress was slow, but Harry Richmond was completed by 1870. It first appeared in Cornhill Magazine
between September 1870 and November 1871, with illustrations by George du Maurier
. The novel had been intended by Meredith as "a spanking bid for popularity", and at first the bid seemed successful. The magazine appearance was followed at the end of 1871 by a three-volume edition issued by Smith, Elder & Co.
, with a second edition only three months later. At that point the demand died away, and another edition was not needed for 15 years; but with the revival of interest in Meredith in the 1880s a string of reprints began, which lasted up to the First World War
.
was damning:
W. L. Courtney
, writing in the Fortnightly Review
in 1886, complained:
On the other hand Arthur Symons
found it, "rousing, enthralling, exciting, full of poetry, and a serious and masterly study in character", and Max Beerbohm
enthused: "What a book! What swiftness and beauty and strength! It is the flight of a young golden eagle high across seas and mountains." Gore Vidal claimed that Mark Twain
enjoyed and "stole" the characters of the Duke and the Dauphin in Huckleberry Finn
from Harry Richmond., and noted:
1870 in literature
The year 1870 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Thomas Bailey Aldrich - The Story of a Bad Boy*Thomas Archer - The Terrible Sights of London*Rhoda Broughton - Red as a rose is she...
-71
1871 in literature
The year 1871 involved saw some significant events relevant to literature.-New books:*Louisa May Alcott - Little Men*Mary Elizabeth Braddon - Fenton's Quest*Edward George Bulwer-Lytton - The Coming Race...
) is a romance by British author George Meredith
George Meredith
George Meredith, OM was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era.- Life :Meredith was born in Portsmouth, England, a son and grandson of naval outfitters. His mother died when he was five. At the age of 14 he was sent to a Moravian School in Neuwied, Germany, where he remained for two...
, sometimes picaresque, sometimes melodramatic. It is believed to be strongly autobiographical in some sections. Meredith intended the book to be a popular success, but the roll-call of reprints shows it to have been so only during Meredith's late-Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and Edwardian heyday, his highly-wrought style proving an obstacle for some readers.
Synopsis
Richmond Roy, or Roy Richmond, is the ne'er-do-well son of an actress and an unnamed member of the royal family. He has taken up the trade of singing teacher, and in this capacity is employed by Squire Beltham, one of whose two daughters he seduces and elopes with. Having given birth to Harry Richmond the daughter dies. Squire Beltham and his other daughter, Dorothy, obtain custody of Harry after a prolonged struggle with Roy. Harry runs away from school and ends up in Germany, where he happens upon his father, now living at the courts of various German princes, with intervals in debtors' prisons. Harry falls in love with Princess Ottilia, but he is once more returned to the care of his grandfather, who promises to make Harry heir to his fortune of £20,000 a year if he will marry local girl Janet Ilchester. Harry will have none of this, and goes back to the Continent to pursue his princess, only to find that she has married a German prince. Since Janet is now engaged to an English marquess, and Squire Beltham has left his grandson a measly £3000, Harry seems to have got the worst of both worlds. Happily, Janet has second thoughts about the marquess and marries Harry instead. The story ends with a disastrous fire, in which Roy dies while trying to save Dorothy Beltham's life.Writing and publication history
Meredith first began working on The Adventures of Harry Richmond as far back as 1863, and the following year he told his friend Augustus JessoppAugustus Jessopp
Augustus Jessopp was an English cleric and writer. He spent periods of time as a school master and then later as a clergyman in Norfolk, England....
that he was writing a work to be called The Adventure of Richmond Roy and his Friend, Contrivance Jack: Being the History of Two Rising Men. Since he was also working on the novels Rhoda Fleming and Vittoria in these years progress was slow, but Harry Richmond was completed by 1870. It first appeared in Cornhill Magazine
Cornhill Magazine
The Cornhill Magazine was a Victorian magazine and literary journal named after Cornhill Street in London.Cornhill was founded by George Murray Smith in 1860 and was published until 1975. It was a literary journal with a selection of articles on diverse subjects and serialisations of new novels...
between September 1870 and November 1871, with illustrations by George du Maurier
George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British cartoonist and author, known for his cartoons in Punch and also for his novel Trilby. He was the father of actor Gerald du Maurier and grandfather of the writers Angela du Maurier and Dame Daphne du Maurier...
. The novel had been intended by Meredith as "a spanking bid for popularity", and at first the bid seemed successful. The magazine appearance was followed at the end of 1871 by a three-volume edition issued by Smith, Elder & Co.
Smith, Elder & Co.
Smith, Elder & Co. was a firm of British publishers who were most noted for the works they published in the 19th century.The firm was founded by George Smith and Alexander Elder and successfully continued by George Murray Smith .They are notable for producing the first edition of the Dictionary...
, with a second edition only three months later. At that point the demand died away, and another edition was not needed for 15 years; but with the revival of interest in Meredith in the 1880s a string of reprints began, which lasted up to the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Critical reception
As with many other of Meredith's novels, Harry Richmond has always divided critical opinion. From the start many were disconcerted by the spectacle of a studiedly witty and philosophical adventure story. An anonymous reviewer in the ExaminerExaminer
The Examiner was a weekly paper founded by Leigh and John Hunt in 1808. For the first fifty years it was a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles, but from 1865 it repeatedly changed hands and political allegiance, resulting in a rapid decline in readership and loss of...
was damning:
- Mr. Meredith sets at defiance all ordinary rules of composition, and indulges in the wildest vagaries of plot-making; but the net result of his efforts is a work so enigmatical, and with such constant affectation of wit, that it is very irksome reading, and so disappointing in the end that the reader who has plodded through the three volumes is likely to vow that he will never take up another of Mr. Meredith's novels.
W. L. Courtney
William Leonard Courtney
William Leonard Courtney was an English author, born at Poona, India, and educated at Oxford. In 1873 he became headmaster of Somersetshire College, Bath, and in 1894 editor of the Fortnightly Review.-Works:...
, writing in the Fortnightly Review
Fortnightly Review
Fortnightly Review was one of the most important and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,000; the first edition appeared on 15 May 1865...
in 1886, complained:
- Here is a young man who goes through a series of surprising adventures quite removed from the sphere of probability…The only literary excuse for such extravagance would be the rollicking character of the hero, such a one, for instance, as was endeared to our childhood by Captain MarryatFrederick MarryatCaptain Frederick Marryat was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, and a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story...
or KingstonWilliam Henry Giles KingstonWilliam Henry Giles Kingston , writer of tales for boys, was born in London, but spent much of his youth in Oporto, where his father was a merchant.-Popularity:His first book, The Circassian Chief, appeared in 1844...
. But Harry Richmond does not rollick; he is never young, but talks about himself with the maladie de la pensée of a modern age.
On the other hand Arthur Symons
Arthur Symons
Arthur William Symons , was a British poet, critic and magazine editor.-Life:Born in Milford Haven, Wales, of Cornish parents, Symons was educated privately, spending much of his time in France and Italy...
found it, "rousing, enthralling, exciting, full of poetry, and a serious and masterly study in character", and Max Beerbohm
Max Beerbohm
Sir Henry Maximilian "Max" Beerbohm was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist best known today for his 1911 novel Zuleika Dobson.-Early life:...
enthused: "What a book! What swiftness and beauty and strength! It is the flight of a young golden eagle high across seas and mountains." Gore Vidal claimed that Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
enjoyed and "stole" the characters of the Duke and the Dauphin in Huckleberry Finn
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in England in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by...
from Harry Richmond., and noted:
- They knew that literature was (let us use the past tense) never a democracy or even a republic. It was a kingdom, and there for a time ruled George Meredith, the tailor’s son whose unique art made him what all of Richmond Roy’s con-man’s cleverness could not, a king.
Modern editions
- L. T. Hergenhan (ed.) The Adventures of Harry Richmond (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1970)
- Sven-Johan Spånberg (ed.) The Adventures of Harry Richmond: The Unpublished Parts (Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksell, 1990)
External links
- Complete text at Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...