Frances Brooke

Frequently called the first Canadian novel, The History of Emily Montague, presents subversive views on traditional subjects like love and marriage and introduces such unique Canadian themes as the relationships between the Québecois and their British con

The History of Emily Montague opens three years after the conclusion of the Seven Years' War, with letters spanning from April 1766 to November 1767. This epistolary novel, primarily written from the perspectives of Colonel Edward Rivers, a British officer seeking a future in the newly acquired Canadian colony, and Arabella Fermor, the witty friend of Emily Montague, offers readers a unique blend of romance, historical context, and intellectual trends. While the love story follows traditional themes-financial struggles, marital misunderstandings, and eventual resolutions-Brooke's novel stands out for its incorporation of various literary movements from the 18th century.Brooke, whose work bridges the Augustan Age and the Age of Sensibility, combines sentimental fiction, pre-Romanticism, and even early feminist ideas in this rich narrative. The History of Emily Montague engages with the sublime and picturesque, offering an early exploration of the picturesque landscape of Canada. The Canadian wilderness, depicted as both Edenic and gothic, plays a pivotal role, almost becoming a character itself, influencing the emotional and physical experiences of the protagonists. This unique depiction of Canadian colonial life sets Brooke's novel apart from other works of sentimental fiction, as it presents realistic details about life in Quebec, highlighting both personal relationships and broader nationhood concerns.What further distinguishes the novel is Brooke's protofeminist critique of social norms. Like other early feminist authors such as Aphra Behn and Mary Wollstonecraft, Brooke questions arranged marriages and societal expectations of women, positioning her novel as a bridge between traditional courtship tales and the more progressive feminist literature that would later emerge, such as the works of Jane Austen. This makes the novel not only a significant epistolary romance but also an important feminist text.Brooke's blending of realism, sentimentalism, and the picturesque within a colonial setting, along with her commentary on British imperialism and identity, offers readers a fresh perspective on both 18th-century fiction and early Canadian literature. With its unique mix of romance, political and social commentary, and picturesque aesthetics, The History of Emily Montague continues to captivate readers interested in the literary and cultural trends of the time.

Widely considered the first Canadian novel, it has an epistolary form and is remarkable for its observations on the lives and traditions of Quebecers and First Nations, as well as on the manners of the upper British classes. This is a scholarly edition that brings to light new information about the times and the context of the novel. The 286 explanatory notes discuss not only issues long forgotten since the 18th century, but also places, people, and expressions that are familiar today only in some parts of the English-speaking world.

The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.Western literary study flows out of eighteenth-century works by Alexander Pope, Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Frances Burney, Denis Diderot, Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and others. Experience the birth of the modern novel, or compare the development of language using dictionaries and grammar discourses. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++John Rylands University Library of ManchesterN007041London: printed for T. Cadell, 1785. 2v.; 12

The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.The eighteenth-century fascination with Greek and Roman antiquity followed the systematic excavation of the ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum in southern Italy; and after 1750 a neoclassical style dominated all artistic fields. The titles here trace developments in mostly English-language works on painting, sculpture, architecture, music, theater, and other disciplines. Instructional works on musical instruments, catalogs of art objects, comic operas, and more are also included. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++Bodleian Library (Oxford)T164791Anonymous. By Frances Brooke. With a half-title.London: printed for T. Cadell, 1789. 22p.; 8

The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.Western literary study flows out of eighteenth-century works by Alexander Pope, Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Frances Burney, Denis Diderot, Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and others. Experience the birth of the modern novel, or compare the development of language using dictionaries and grammar discourses. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++British LibraryT048267Dublin: printed for Sam. Price, Wm. Watson, James Williams, Thom. Wilkinson, Wm. Gilbert and 7 others in Dublin], 1781. viii, 2],61, 1]p.; 12

The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.Western literary study flows out of eighteenth-century works by Alexander Pope, Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Frances Burney, Denis Diderot, Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and others. Experience the birth of the modern novel, or compare the development of language using dictionaries and grammar discourses. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++British LibraryT009496Anonymous. By Frances Brooke. With a final Advertisement leaf, numbered v-vi and signed b3.London: printed for T. Cadell, 1783. 46, v-vip.; 8

The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.Western literary study flows out of eighteenth-century works by Alexander Pope, Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Frances Burney, Denis Diderot, Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and others. Experience the birth of the modern novel, or compare the development of language using dictionaries and grammar discourses. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++British LibraryT107850London: printed by A. Strahan; for T. N. Longman and O. Rees, 1800. 31, 1]p.; 8

Title: Airs, songs, duetts, trios and chorusses in Marian, a comic opera in two acts. By Frances Brooke.]Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The POETRY & DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging from Bardic poetry to Victorian verse. Containing many classic works from important dramatists and poets, this collection has something for every lover of the stage and verse. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Anonymous; Brooke, Frances; 1788. 8 . 643.g.6.(4.)