Alas! A Novel

"Alas! A Novel" by Rhoda Broughton is a work of fiction written in the late 19th century. The narrative introduces the readers to James Burgoyne, who is drawn into a complicated social situation involving his college friend and an unexpected encounter with figures from his past, particularly a woman named Elizabeth Le Marchant. The story seems to explore themes of memory, nostalgia, and the emotional challenges of rekindling connections after years apart. The opening of the novel sets the stage on a wet night in Oxford, where Burgoyne reluctantly attends an event for the "Oxford Women's Provident Association" at the request of his friend. While his friend reads aloud from a Charles Dickens work, Burgoyne's mind drifts to his own past, specifically a mysterious woman whose face he recognizes but whose identity eludes him. As the evening unfolds, the reader senses Burgoyne's internal struggles with his past relationships, the melancholy of lost years, and the anticipation of what may come next when he finally identifies Elizabeth. The narrative expertly blends elements of comedy and pathos, offering a glimpse of the character's emotional depth and setting the tone for the relationships that will evolve throughout the story. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Rhoda Broughton was a Welsh novelist and short story writer. Her early novels earned a reputation for sensationalism, so that her later, stronger work tended to be neglected by critics, although she was called a queen of the circulating libraries. Her novel Dear Faustina (1897) has been noted for its homoeroticism. Her novel Lavinia (1902) depicts a seemingly "unmanly" young man, who wishes he had been born as a woman. Broughton descended from the Broughton baronets, as a granddaughter of the 8th baronet. She was a niece of Sheridan le Fanu, who helped her to start her literary career. She was a long-time friend of fellow writer Henry James and was noted for her adversarial relationship with both Lewis Carroll and Oscar Wilde.