The Old Manor House

by Charlotte Turner Smith

In The Old Manor House (1794), Charlotte Smith combines elements of the romance, the Gothic, recent history, and culture to produce both a social document and a compelling novel. A "property romance," the love story of Orlando and Monimia revolves around the Manor House as inheritable property. In situating their romance as dependent on the whims of property owners, Smith critiques a society in love with money at the expense of its most vulnerable members, the dispossessed.

Appendices in this edition include: contemporary responses; writings on the genre debate by Anna Letitia Barbauld, John Moore, and Walter Scott; and historical documents focusing on property laws as well as the American and French revolutions.

Genres: Classics, 18th Century, Fiction, Literature, Read For School, English Literature, British Literature

587 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1793

About the author

Charlotte Turner Smith was an English Romantic poet and novelist. She initiated a revival of the English sonnet, helped establish the conventions of Gothic fiction, and wrote political novels of sensibility.

Reviews

[Chana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a gruelingly long book at 533 pages of small print, and language that is very wordy and ornate. It was published in 1793, and it is a marvel really, both as social commentary and a demonstration of the manners and speech patterns of yesteryear. I loved saying these long and complex sentences aloud, somewhat to the distress of my family, although the cat didn't mind, thank you. I thought the author was very droll and amusing. She pokes fun at the social posturing of the well born and wealthy, she sympathizes with the poor, she criticizes debtor's prison, she lays out the dangers for young people of leisure with gambling and excesses, she talks about the choices for younger sons which were mainly the clergy or the military, business was deemed vulgar. But mainly this book is about marrying for love or advantage.
Orlando Somerive is a second son in love with an orphan niece of a domestic in the Manor House of his great Aunt. This great Aunt is very wealthy but estranged from her family as cousins married down. She is the last of three unmarried sisters and is planning to leave her money and properties outside the family. But she develops a love for Orlando who is the only welcome family member invited to the Manor House. Orlando is playing a dangerous game however, making nice to his Aunt while sneaking to see his love Monimia who is locked into a turret much of the time!
There is a lot of family drama back at the Somerive family home; oldest son is a dissolute gambler, oldest daughter refuses an advantageous marriage and marries instead the nephew of her suitor, running away in order to do so. Father is sick, mother is heartbroken, the family wants for money, what is going to happen? There is a lot of hand wringing and much crying.
Back at the Manor House there is a lot of hand wringing and much crying as Orlando and Minimia try find a way to a future where they can marry, or at least see each other without sneaking through the house in the dead of night.
Orlando makes the decision to join the military so he will have a respectable position and a commission. Contrary to what he had been led to believe, he is sent to America.
I think it is evident that the author didn't know nearly as much about America as she did about England. This part of the book reads somewhat like boy's adventure story complete with tomahawk wielding Indians who capture and keep prisoner our Orlando. Although she criticizes the slave trade, she has a pretty unmitigated racial prejudice against the Native Americans. The one nice thing she says about a Native American warrior is nice out one side of her mouth, and then contains a racial insult out the other,
"The secret sympathy between generous minds seems to exist throughout the whole humankind; for this young warrior became soon as much attached to Orlando as his nature allowed him to be to anybody;...."
My guess is that she was sympathetic to black people because she knew black people in England, but I would think she had only read about Native Americans and had no experience of them herself.
Orlando is a sympathetic character with good manners, a kind heart and a strong moral sense.
Why he turns into a puling, sneaky child when he meets back with Monimia is a mystery to me. But I get ahead of myself. Orlando is finally returned to America, in rags and penniless. He gets home, and, there is no home! His great Aunt is dead and all his family is missing. Strangers are living in the Manor House as well as in his family home. And people are living high on the money he is almost certain his Great Aunt left for him. The rest of the story is taken up with Orlando's Quest for his Monimia, his family and his inheritance. And his maturity. Expect that it will all work out.

[Sotiris Karaiskos · Rating 4 out of 5]

As in the writer's previous books, so in this, the story revolves around a couple facing difficulties as many around them do not want them to be together and complete their happiness with marriage. Here, however, I think that the author goes one step further by deepening in the social conditions that caused these objections in their social environment, by talking about the issue of money that determined not only the quality of life but also the social position, the arrogance of the rich, about the owners of property that afflicted their heirs, about the aristocracy that refused to admit that the world was changing, ending in history but also in matters that occupied her readers, without hesitating to say her opinion on sensitive issues such as the dealing of the American Revolution. So I can say that this book has greater depth than the previous ones, which in turn had enough social commentary, preserving the romantic atmosphere, the tenderness, the poetic mood, in a story just as adventurous. The only objection I may have is that story is closing somewhat abruptly and hurriedly, probably because of the fact that this book was written for economic purposes, as experts say, but this is just one detail that can not spoil the my overall very good impressions.

Όπως και στα προηγούμενα βιβλία της συγγραφέως, έτσι και σε αυτό, η ιστορία περιστρέφεται γύρω από ένα ζευγάρι που αντιμετωπίζει δυσκολίες καθώς πολλοί γύρω τους δεν θέλουν να είναι μαζί και να ολοκληρώσουν την ευτυχία τους με τον γάμο. Εδώ, όμως, νομίζω ότι η συγγραφέας πηγαίνει ένα βήμα παραπέρα εμβαθύνοντας περισσότερο στις κοινωνικές συνθήκες που προκαλούν αυτές τις ενστάσεις στον κοινωνικό τους περίγυρο, μιλώντας για το θέμα των χρημάτων που καθορίζουν όχι μόνο το επίπεδο της ζωής αλλά και την κοινωνική θέση, την αλαζονεία των πλουσίων, για τους κατόχους μεγάλης περιουσίας που ταλαιπωρούν τους κληρονόμους τους, για την αριστοκρατία που αρνείται να παραδεχτεί ότι ο κόσμος αλλάζει, καταλήγοντας στην ιστορία αλλά και σε θέματα που απασχολούσαν τους αναγνώστες της, χωρίς να διστάσει να πει την προσωπική της άποψη για ευαίσθητα ζητήματα όπως η αντιμετώπιση της αμερικανικής επανάστασης. Μπορώ δηλαδή να πω ότι αυτό το βιβλίο έχει μεγαλύτερο βάθος από τα προηγούμενα, που και αυτά με τη σειρά τους είχαν αρκετό κοινωνικό σχολιασμό, διατηρώντας τη ρομαντική ατμόσφαιρα, την τρυφερότητα, την ποιητική διάθεση, σε μία ιστορία εξίσου περιπετειώδη. Η μόνη ένσταση που μπορώ να έχω είναι ότι η ιστορία κλείνει κάπως απότομα και βιαστικά, πιθανότατα εξαιτίας του γεγονότος ότι αυτό το βιβλίο γράφτηκε για βιοποριστικούς σκοπούς, όπως λένε οι ειδικοί, αλλά αυτό είναι μόνο μία λεπτομέρεια που δεν μπορεί να χαλάσει τις γενικότερες πολύ καλές εντυπώσεις μου.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

After loving Charlotte Smith's 'Desmond', at first I was a little disappointed with this novel as it seems rather slow and repetitive by comparison, and the heroine, Monimia, is a bit insipid. However, about halfway through it becomes a lot more interesting, when the hero, Orlando, stops lingering around the old manor house of the title and goes off to fight in the American Wars of Independence. Smith is said to have been an influence on Dickens, and you can see it in the later chapters of the book, with sardonic portrayals of the law which he might well have remembered when writing 'Bleak House' - Smith herself was caught up in a court case which lasted many decades and was said to have given inspiration for Dickens' 'Jarndyce and Jarndyce'.

[Martin Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

An odd but interesting and very readable mixture of fable, social critique and novel of manners. The preface to this book tells us the author stretched it out because she needed the money, and it shows, because it does not really get going until well into the second half. This may explain why the first two volumes look more like a novel of manners than the social critique the book was billed as. On the plus side, the language is engaging and most of the characters are, too, although the two leading players appear to be more fabled than real. What makes this book more than worth reading is the second half, especially its critical view of how Britain prosecuted the American wars of independence, and from a British standpoint, whereas that period is barely taught in British schools.

[Scarlettfish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smith's best novel, this novel has an astonishing breadth. A "condition of England" novel that is a forerunner of Mansfield Park, a comment on the French Revolution through Smith's depiction of the American Revolution, and a study of injustice, this is a very interesting novel that manages to integrate plot and social/political critique in a sophisticated and believable manner. Smith took her time writing this one, and it shows. Well worth a read, as it is one of the most complex novels of the 1790s.

[Grace Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is arguably Charlotte Smith's most famous book. It relates the story of romantic hero, Orlando, who stands to inherit The Old Manor House of the title, Rayland Hall. However, he can only do this if he keeps in the good books of "old Tabby" Mrs Rayland, the elderly current owner. During his visits there, he has made a childhood friend of Mrs Lennard's (Mrs Rayland's cantankerous companion) ward. Mrs. Lennard may be cruel and exacting, but she too has a romantic streak and she has named her ward, "Monimia"; a name which becomes the subject of much derision from both Mrs. Rayland and Orlando's father (who insist on calling her plain old "Mary"). (To be fair, they've got a point - "Monimia" was redolent of a sexually transmitted disease to me; but apparently it was in the same realm as "Leonora" or "Clarissa" might have been in the 18th century).

The story then follows Orlando's falling in love with Monimia (a girl who was in reality an illiterate servant when he first meets her) whereas he is a man with some expectations; and his attempts to mould her into the woman he wants her to be (by educating her every night in a secret room beneath a tower in the hall) and then win approval to marry her. The romance element, however, is deeply undermined by the fact that Orlando is a weak vacillating character who is constantly at the beck and call of the elderly Mrs. Rayland and daren't offend her in case she decides to will her property elsewhere. In fact, as Jacqueline Labbe outlines in her introduction to this brilliant Broadview Literary Texts edition, this really is a romance of property and an anti-romance in terms of the human relationships involved. Orlando needs to keep in favour with Mrs. Rayland, but he can only do this at the expense of his relationship with Monimia; and vice-versa.

Like all Smith novels, the characterisation is a real strong point, as is the depiction of landscape. As Walter Scott wrote of Smith, she "preserves in her landscapes the truth and precision of a painter"; and the characters could literally have stepped from life. However, as always with Smith, she was in a hurry to finish her novel (and get paid for it) so the last volume is a bit of a rushed affair with Smith tying up her story with several very unlikely events to conclude the story (such as Orlando happening across the missing Monimia in a very unlikely place indeed). As the Critical Review wrote of the section of the story where Warwick (a captain in the army bound to fight in the Americas) falls in love with Orlando's sister, Isabella, a woman who is betrothed to Warwick's uncle: "The old colonel is attacked by a severe fit of the gout which confines him to his room, and Warrick (sic) arriving to intimate orders for the immediate embarkation of Orlando’s regiment for America, becomes instantly enamoured of his intended aunt, and in less than forty-eight hours procures her consent to abscond with him to Portsmouth, whither he is obliged to go to attend his duty." In other words, events are hurried through in order to suit Smith's purposes and if she needs to dispose of her characters quickly.,

The best part for me was Volume three, when Orlando, goes to war to fight for the British in the American Revolution. It is made clear that Orlando does not understand the cause he is fighting for and has no idea whether it is just or not (of course, it isn't). Smith then outlines how undersupplied the army is and how this costs the lives of many of the men before they even arrive to fight. Smith was a radical and much in favour of the revolution in France. However, after Desmond, which was slated because of its strong pro-revolutionary views, she daren't come out openly in favour of revolutionary France again. Therefore, she shifts the period she is writing about backwards thirty years or so and writes about the "American Revolution" instead, but successfully manages to argue in support of both. In my opinion, Vol 3 is where Orlando stops being so inactive in his attempts to win Rayland Hall and actually goes out and does something. Okay, it's a disaster (he is captured by Native Americans and nearly scalped) but at least it's SOMETHING other than hanging around being an old lady's sycophant.

When he returns, Orlando is a very different person. With "All the horrors of which he had been a witness in America now returned to his recollection; and the madness and folly of mankind, which occasioned those horrors, struck him more forcibly now than when his spirits were heated by having been a party in them." p. 458, Smith articulates an early form of shell-shock for her hero; not much better than a tramp, several of his own family and friends mistake him for a ghost. (And indeed, the property, Rayland Hall, has gone, with the death of the owner in his absence, and without it, Orlando doesn't amount to much at all). Monimia is missing, his father is dead and his family are dispersed and living in poverty.

Of course, it's a romance, so everything will come right in the end, but for me, Volume three, with its stark tragedy and violence, is much the best volume. I also liked the character of Isabella (Orlando's sister) who agrees to marry a man old enough to be her grandfather because he's rich but then finds that the trappings of wealth don't really amount to much when it comes down to it. I particularly liked the moment when she notices that her beautiful hair is much better in a natural style than being dressed by a valet de chambre (i.e. powdered, as was the fashion then) and losing all its lovely colour. Smith is a wonderful writer and her characters, even today, are wonderfully realistic.

As a final aside, this edition is definitely worth the extra money - I've got the second edition of this (2005). Jacqueline Labbe is definitely the UK expert on Smith (if not the world expert). Any critic who writes about Smith will cite Labbe's work in some form or other; and this edition with all of its supporting texts and fabulous introduction is, in my opinion, worth paying extra for.

There's LOADS going on in this fabulous 18th century romance - definitely recommend it.

[Sandra Miksa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's more of a 2.5 star reads.
This book is like a swirl - part of it was so utterly boring and the other part was actually enjoying to consume. I believe the greatest problem of this novel is that it could have so easily been condensed, severely condensed. The ironic part is that the ending was the most rushed, the conclusion was crammed in its ending chapter of the novel but the entire novel in itself dragged and dragged and dragged. I really did enjoy the characters and sympathize with them but some side characters had too much affect on the main characters towards the end of the book, which I guess could make sense in the real world: that others can govern and ruin our lives. Besides all that frustrates me, I really do like its strained ideals on courtship, economy/ownership, war, family, etc.

[Wendy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the books in Austen's world. Interesting for a variety of reasons.

[Zachariah Mayberry]

So thankful for Charlotte Smith and her literary legacy ♥️

[Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a long read! But the time invested was repaid with emotional investment -- I felt more than once how sorry I was that Orlando's hopes were blasted, and found myself anxious when I put the book down about Monimia's fate. Seems to be doing much of the same social commentary as Northanger Abbey will later, in a much more seriously earnest way -- none of the Gothic horrors need superstition or historical distance to render the characters' distress plausible.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

you could fill oceans with all the tears that were in this book

[Xander Berbé · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit long.

[Lauren Borremans · Rating 3 out of 5]

The never ending story.

[bibiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Old Manor House was definitely a long and dense read; it was one that I felt like had too much exposition. The first volumes felt like a drag, but it does do a decent job in showing the tensions concerning property and how this property is tied to status. However, I felt like these volumes could have been condensed to be more succinct, and definitely more direct.
I did not like the romance between Orlando and Monimia, as I felt it was quite lackluster. Monimia, as a heroine, did not have much of substance to note besides being a "property" that was moved around between the various characters---whether that was from Orlando or Mrs. Rayland herself. Majority of the novel, she spends crying and wishing for Orlando, or crying over the hardships in her life. In many ways, it is hard to define what type of character she even is, as she serves to have no identity outside of the people who restrict or have "romance" with her.

Something that I did find relatively interesting in the novel was the undertones of property and how people, or women, can be considered property. The grander frame of the novel narrates the theme of status tied to property, as this property is extended to marriage; nevertheless, marriage, courtship, and women are means of acquiring more status and more wealth. The women were considered a transactional purchase, a bargaining tool used to achieve an end. They were never used or considered as a subject; in many ways, they are likened to something like an estate. Perhaps the title The Old Manor House can refer to the old woman Mrs. Rayland herself, as the topic that is debated throughout the novel is the estate owned by Mrs. Rayland; moreover, this estate serves to be a physical embodiment of Mrs. Rayland herself. Many desire to own this estate, thus own Mrs. Rayland and her assets---this serves to narrow and reinforce how property is not that far off and serves as a double meaning for owning both an actual manor, as well as women themselves.

[Monika Ciem · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit that I breathed a little easier when I finished reading the last page. The Old Manor House is not a bad novel as such - it simply appears that somewhere around the last third or fourth, even Charlotte herself seemed to have lost track of what story she actually wanted to tell. This is, most likely, primarily a love story firmly framed by the economics and the hierarchical (judgy) society of 18th-century England. At the same time, this is a story of the American War of Independence and the questioning of the point of war (there is none), a story about the increasing global trade and all its implications of slavery and exploitation in the colonies (and plenty of racism to go along with this), a story about evil relations, about the elderly powerful woman in a large (Gothic) manor,... The biggest problem, however, is the fact that events that were built up for chapters, or even the actual entirety of the book, get absolutely no narrative pay-off. They happen off-screen, sometimes crammed into a sentence or mere clause, and done so in rapid succession. You know what will happen in a story like this - it will turn out alright, the main goals and hopes of the beginning will be gratified - but then the narrative drags out even the moments immediately preceding this. Smith's novel definitely has merits, in my opinion primarily the depiction of the questionable war and effectively the arrogance of the English concerning their colonies; however, from the POV of narrative and tension, it leaves much to be desired.

[Diem · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my continuing pursuit of the works of women writers who were influential during their lifetimes but have been forgotten by a patriarchal system that has favored men, I arrived at Charlotte Smith. Her extraordinary personal story would be fine reading of its own. Her novel, "The Old Manor House", was as good as anything of its genre and certainly a worthy showcase for her talent. There are passages relating to the true nature of patriotism and war that took my breath away. The introduction to this edition was excellent, they aren't always. The additional materials at the end...well, I only nosed through them but they look great.

[Heila]

Satire... definition: "Satire is a genre in which exaggeration, irony, humor or ridicule are used to criticize and expose flaws in human nature and behavior. In addition to being its own genre, it is a literary device often used to critique politics and topical issues.

Satire is used in various mediums such as film, literature, and even music. The purpose of satire is to both entertain audiences and cause them to think more deeply about a subject. It is often humorous, but does not have to be." https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/wha...

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took a lot of reading, over 500 pages of small font print. A bildungsroman about Orlando, quite gothic in places. A good plot but very drawn out and it feels like it was value for money when published as three volumes, plenty of reading!

Makes some powerful statements about the position of women in society and how they could easily find themselves in very difficult circumstances. I also felt it reflects episodes in Smith's life about prison and problems with wills and inheritance.

Glad I've read it, will be a while before I tackle her other novels

[andi · Rating 2 out of 5]

this left me really DISSAPOINTED
i had really high expectations because i love book where love is forbbiden, but i didn't like the roll out of this book. i felt like the same thing was happening all the time, but with different characters and it zoned me out everytime i started reading it. the only reason i'm giving it 2 stars and not one is because the ending was good and i liked volume 4. but, overall, really dissapointing.

[Rue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow okay, I had to read this book for a class at university, but let me tell you, it was WILD.

[nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monimia innocent, she has never done anything wrong in her life, I would die for her

3.5/5

[Leslie Reiber · Rating 4 out of 5]

1794, and it shows. Great if you like this kind of thing (which I do).

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

painfully drab

[Julianne · Rating 1 out of 5]

also read for my Jane Austen class. I still talk about this class to this day lmao

[True :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have energy to invest, invest. Otherwise, do yourself a favour and pick up another “classic” romance.

3.25 ⭐️

[Kiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. I know it's just that styles and preferences have changed, but I found all of the characters excruciating. Orlando is quite clearly being mocked by his author, but literally everyone else cries far too much and is generally incapable of anything useful or constructive-- and then occasionally the plot requires real action, and suddenly someone who otherwise only cries and faints can think quickly and take action.
2. This edition makes me very angry. First, the insistence on a photograph for the cover means that the image is of the incorrect period, which certainly didn't inspire great confidence in the editor or publisher's ability to present a good critical edition of the text. Then the book had many typos, some of which may perhaps have been errors in the original text (reproduced for some reason), but most of which are quite clearly the fault of the edition.

The only saving grace was the rare moment when Smith's political and social criticism shone through the text: in her descriptions of war, of legal malpractice, of human selfishness and insensitivity. Her "good" characters are either ridiculous or highly problematic, but her "bad" characters are exceptionally well-drawn.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I wasn't sure about this one at first—reading it for class. It was a little slow and dragging for maybe the first half or so, but after a while picked up, and by the end I was enjoying it much more. I didn't really care for the romance, but otherwise the plot was interesting enough to keep me engaged up to the last page, particularly when the focus was more on Orlando and less on Monimia.

[Adrienne Foreman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, definitely. Probably more palatable for people really interested in Victorian or non-Gothic Romantic era. I don't love the writing style. Still, worth a read for what it adds to historical knowledge of the literature at the time. The author's history is also very impressive.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rolled my eyes frequently at the hero, Orlando, especially in the beginning. His overly sentimental attachment to a girl reminded me of another Orlando in the movie Troy. But I still really enjoyed the book.

[Ashley Saladen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I based my dissertation on this book and really enjoyed it. Smith's background makes the story more complex and interesting.