Novel 368: Anne Isabella Ritchie, The Story of Elizabeth (1863)
A mother and daughter both love the same man.
Anne Isabella Ritchie (1837-1919), eldest daughter of the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, wrote several novels in addition to many nonfiction works in various genres.
“In Elly we have a heroine whom we cannot help grudging to the world of fiction”; the novel has “many incidental beauties”; all the characters are “vividly sketched” and the style “indicates real genius . . . not only fresh and bright, but . . . rich and mellow.” Spectator, April 4, 1863
“An air of coaxing playfulness pervades it” along with a “serious tenderness, which gives this little tale a winning charm peculiar to itself.” Westminster Review, July, 1863
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