Masquerade Novels

by Eliza Fowler Haywood, Eliza F. Hayward

The most important female English novelist of the 1720s, Eliza Haywood is famous for writing scandalous fiction about London society. Fast-moving, controversial, and sometimes disturbing, Haywood s short novels The Masqueraders and The Surprize are valuable sources for the study of eighteenth-century gender and identity, the social history of masquerade, the dangers of courtship and seduction, and conceptions of elite and popular cultures.

Despite their common theme of masquerade and seduction, the two short novels are a study in contrasts. The Masqueraders features the whirl of London life, with a libertine anti-hero and his serial seductions of women who believe that they can manipulate the social conventions that are expected to limit them. The Surprize, on the other hand, is an uncharacteristically sentimental story in which a similarly salacious plot ends in rewards for the good and virtuous.

Well suited to the teaching of these two texts, this volume contains annotated scholarly editions of both novels, an extensive introduction, and useful appendices that discuss the masquerade s role in eighteenth-century debates on gender, morality, and identity."

Genres: Romance, Fiction

380 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1724

About the author

Eliza Haywood (1693 – 1756), born Elizabeth Fowler, was an English writer, actress and publisher. Since the 1980s, Eliza Haywood’s literary works have been gaining in recognition and interest. Described as “prolific even by the standards of a prolific age” (Blouch, intro 7), Haywood wrote and published over seventy works during her lifetime including fiction, drama, translations, poetry, conduct literature and periodicals. Haywood is a significant figure of the 18th century as one of the important founders of the novel in English. Today she is studied primarily as a novelist.

Reviews

[sansian · Rating 3 out of 5]

i have so much more patience for pulp romance from the 18th century than i do for pulp romance from now

[franziska · Rating 2 out of 5]

bridgerton in the 18th century (read for capstone)

[Ela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the incredibly dramatic convoluted romance however I just felt it went on a little too long. I enjoyed the second half of the story however it didn't quite fit with the first half of the story.

Libertarianism, so imagine the 'free love' situation of the 60s but with more costumes, petticoats patriarchy and angry husbands.

The story is fun and OTT but I preferred Haywood's Fantomina; or, Love in a Maze as an example of amatory fiction; its uses similar tropes but its a lot shorter and the story moves at a much faster pace.

[Mills College Library]

Fiction H427m 2015