The New Republic (novel)
Encyclopedia
The New Republic or Culture, Faith and Philosophy in an English Country House by English author William Hurrell Mallock
(1849–1923) is a novel
first published by Chatto and Windus of London in 1877. The work had its genesis as a serialization. In June-December 1876 (after Mallock had secured his Bachelor of Arts degree at Oxford in 1874, the same year as Oscar Wilde
) it appeared as a series of sketches in Belgravia
magazine.
consisting almost entirely of dialogue
and mocking most of the important figures then at Oxford University, with regards to aestheticism and Hellenism
.
wrote in 1951, "If we can read through The New Republic without at one point or another being made to feel a little foolish, we are wise indeed."
Walter Pater is of particular interest because Mallock's apparent homophobia
against him—expressed first in the more extensive treatment given the Mr. Rose character in the initial serialization—helped ruin Pater's public reputation as well as his career at Oxford. Reading Wilde, Querying Spaces: An Exhibition Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Trials of Oscar Wilde notes that, as Linda Dowling has observed, "Mr. Rose" is "the first in a long line of popular depictions of effeminate English aesthetes such as Gilbert's Bunthorne and Du Maurier's Postlewaite and Maudle" http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/fales/exhibits/wilde/3oxford.htm. This depiction of Pater appeared during the competition for the Oxford Professorship of Poetry and played a role in convincing Pater to remove himself from consideration.
Mallock's work is little known today.
William Hurrell Mallock
William Hurrell Mallock was an English novelist and economics writer.-Biography:He was educated privately and then at Balliol College, Oxford. He won the Newdigate prize in 1872 and took a second class in the final classical schools in 1874, securing his Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford...
(1849–1923) is a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
first published by Chatto and Windus of London in 1877. The work had its genesis as a serialization. In June-December 1876 (after Mallock had secured his Bachelor of Arts degree at Oxford in 1874, the same year as Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
) it appeared as a series of sketches in Belgravia
Belgravia (magazine)
Belgravia was a monthly London illustrated literary magazine of the late 19th century that was founded by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.-History:...
magazine.
Plot introduction
The novel is a satireSatire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
consisting almost entirely of dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
and mocking most of the important figures then at Oxford University, with regards to aestheticism and Hellenism
Hellenism (neoclassicism)
Hellenism, as a neoclassical movement distinct from other Roman or Greco-Roman forms of neoclassicism emerging after the European Renaissance, is most often associated with Germany and England in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries...
.
Characters
The famous people Mallock depicts are as follows, together with the names of the characters that represent them.- Matthew ArnoldMatthew ArnoldMatthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator...
— Mr. Luke - Thomas CarlyleThomas CarlyleThomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
— Donald Gordon - William Kingdom Clifford — Mr. Saunders
- Violet FaneViolet FaneViolet Fane was the literary pseudonym of Mary, Baroness Currie, née Mary Montgomerie Lamb , a British novelist, poet and essayist of Victorian era.-Biography:...
— Mrs. Sinclair - W. M. Hardinge — Robert Leslie
- Thomas HuxleyThomas HuxleyThomas Henry Huxley PC FRS was an English biologist, known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution....
— Mr. Storks - Benjamin JowettBenjamin JowettBenjamin Jowett was renowned as an influential tutor and administrative reformer in the University of Oxford, a theologian and translator of Plato. He was Master of Balliol College, Oxford.-Early career:...
— Dr. Jenkinson - W. H. MallockWilliam Hurrell MallockWilliam Hurrell Mallock was an English novelist and economics writer.-Biography:He was educated privately and then at Balliol College, Oxford. He won the Newdigate prize in 1872 and took a second class in the final classical schools in 1874, securing his Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford...
— Otho Laurence - Walter PaterWalter PaterWalter Horatio Pater was an English essayist, critic of art and literature, and writer of fiction.-Early life:...
— Mr. Rose - John RuskinJohn RuskinJohn Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
— Mr. Herbert - John TyndallJohn TyndallJohn Tyndall FRS was a prominent Irish 19th century physicist. His initial scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he studied thermal radiation, and produced a number of discoveries about processes in the atmosphere...
— Mr. Stockton
Literary significance and criticism
The book became a best seller in its time and retains much of its humour and satirical bite today. As author David DaichesDavid Daiches
David Daiches was a Scottish literary historian and literary critic, scholar and writer. He wrote extensively on English literature, Scottish literature and Scottish culture.-Early life:...
wrote in 1951, "If we can read through The New Republic without at one point or another being made to feel a little foolish, we are wise indeed."
Walter Pater is of particular interest because Mallock's apparent homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
against him—expressed first in the more extensive treatment given the Mr. Rose character in the initial serialization—helped ruin Pater's public reputation as well as his career at Oxford. Reading Wilde, Querying Spaces: An Exhibition Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Trials of Oscar Wilde notes that, as Linda Dowling has observed, "Mr. Rose" is "the first in a long line of popular depictions of effeminate English aesthetes such as Gilbert's Bunthorne and Du Maurier's Postlewaite and Maudle" http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/fales/exhibits/wilde/3oxford.htm. This depiction of Pater appeared during the competition for the Oxford Professorship of Poetry and played a role in convincing Pater to remove himself from consideration.
Mallock's work is little known today.
External links
- Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, New York University, Reading Wilde, Querying Spaces
- Mallock, W. H., The New Republic