Ellesmere

by Elizabeth (Mary) Meeke

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1118 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1799

About the author

In 2013, research by Dr. Simon McDonald of UC-London and Yale established that "Mrs. Meek" was actually Elizabeth Meeke, a relation of the Burney's, not the previously identified Mary Meeke.

https://blog.oup.com/2013/03/identify...

https://academic.oup.com/res/article/...

Reviews

[Maia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat unusually, Meeke seems to favor male heroes, rather than the more typical heroines. She also tends towards a bit less tension than most, as her heroes are usually well-supported by adopted parental figures (often with large fortunes to bestow on whomever they choose), even before they find out the secrets of their births and illustrious origins.

Clement Davenport, abandoned as an infant, luckily acquires Mrs. Davenport as a guardian, who raises him as a gentleman (despite his suspected low birth) and gives him her quite reasonable fortune. However, problems during a tour on the continent end up separating him from his wife, and thus rather than focusing on Clement's relationship with any heroine, the novel actually spends much more time on his friendship with Mr. Meredith, a light-hearted but generous gentleman from Wales.

Clement of course eventually ends up discovering his parents are the Marquis and Marchioness Ormond, making him Mr. Meredith's cousin, and figures out what happened to his wife. Meeke's novel is very fun, and less stressful to read than some of the more high-strung dramas out there. She also includes some rather biting comments on Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women, so if you're interested in reception of that work this might be an interesting read.