Monsieur Maurice

by Amelia B. Edwards

The story of a young girl in Bruehl in the early 19th century whose family hosts a state prisoner

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Horror, Novella, Historical Fiction

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1873

About the author

Amelia Ann Blandford Edwards (1831-1892) was an English novelist, journalist, lady traveller and Egyptologist, born to an Irish mother and a father who had been a British Army officer before becoming a banker. Edwards was educated at home by her mother, showing considerable promise as a writer at a young age. She published her first poem at the age of 7, her first story at age 12. Edwards thereafter proceeded to publish a variety of poetry, stories and articles in a large number of magazines.

Edwards' first full-length novel was My Brother's Wife (1855). Her early novels were well received, but it was Barbara's History (1864), a novel of bigamy, that solidly established her reputation as a novelist. She spent considerable time and effort on their settings and backgrounds, estimating that it took her about two years to complete the researching and writing of each. This painstaking work paid off, her last novel, Lord Brackenbury (1880), emerged as a run-away success which went to 15 editions.

In the winter of 1873–1874, accompanied by several friends, Edwards toured Egypt, discovering a fascination with the land and its cultures, both ancient and modern. Journeying southwards from Cairo in a hired dahabiyeh (manned houseboat), the companions visited Philae and ultimately reached Abu Simbel where they remained for six weeks. During this last period, a member of Edwards' party, the English painter Andrew McCallum, discovered a previously-unknown sanctuary which bore her name for some time afterwards. Having once returned to the UK, Edwards proceeded to write a vivid description of her Nile voyage, publishing the resulting book in 1876 under the title of A Thousand Miles up the Nile. Enhanced with her own hand-drawn illustrations, the travelogue became an immediate bestseller.

Edwards' travels in Egypt had made her aware of the increasing threat directed towards the ancient monuments by tourism and modern development. Determined to stem these threats by the force of public awareness and scientific endeavour, Edwards became a tireless public advocate for the research and preservation of the ancient monuments and, in 1882, co-founded the Egypt Exploration Fund (now the Egypt Exploration Society) with Reginald Stuart Poole, curator of the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum. Edwards was to serve as joint Honorary Secretary of the Fund until her death some 14 years later.

With the aims of advancing the Fund's work, Edwards largely abandoned her other literary work to concentrate solely on Egyptology. In this field she contributed to the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, to the American supplement of that work, and to the Standard Dictionary. As part of her efforts Edwards embarked on an ambitious lecture tour of the United States in the period 1889–1890. The content of these lectures was later published under the title Pharaohs, Fellahs, and Explorer (1891).

Amelia Edwards died at Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, on the 15 April 1892, bequeathing her collection of Egyptian antiquities and her library to University College London, together with a sum of £2,500 to found an Edwards Chair of Egyptology. She was buried in St Mary's Church Henbury, Bristol,

Wikipedia: Amelia B. Edwards

Reviews

[Abraham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comencé a leer esta obra porque la catalogaban como una novela victoriana de terror, no diría precisamente que es terrorífica pero si tiene sus toques sobrenaturales y por supuesto que me gustó.
El trama es sobre una niña que vivía con su papá en un castillo en Alemania cerca de la frontera con Francia, un día por mandato directo del rey le es encomendado al papá de Gretchel que cuide a un prisionero de guerra francés, Monsieur Maurice el cual se hace muy amigo de la pequeña Gretchel y de su padre también, el motivo por el cual es un prisionero es un misterio. Un día por visita del rey al castillo se descubre que todo había sido una farsa y Monsieur había sido prisionero injustamente y fue liberado gracias a la pequeña Gretchel y a una sombra misteriosa que velo por el francés a lo largo de la novela y que nunca se supo que o quien era esa presencia.

[Emmett Hoops · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well-written story that fits quite easily into the vast collection of what we call "Victorian" fiction. Long-suffering love, incompatibility, longing, lush descriptions: it's all here for those who like this sort of thing. I certainly do, now and then.

A man is brought to the stately home of the German governor of Brühl. The man, Monsieur Maurice, is brought with orders to keep him as a prisoner. He develops a Platonic relationship with a very young girl, who thrills to his tales of adventure. Is he unjustly imprisoned? If so, what was his crime? Why is he imprisoned here, of all places?

It's a good story. Not going to knock your socks off, but, taken for what it's worth, it's a nice ride.

[Veronica Bowerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gifted Victorian writer

I have researched Amelia Edwards and her life over several years as her home in Bristol was quite near ours. Having read her travel book which was a best seller A Thousand Miles up the Nile published in 1877 and still in print I decided to try another of her books. I was not disappointed with Monsieur Maurice. In fact I had to keep reading it to learn of his fate. It was a really good read. I now hope to read one of her ghost stories.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gretchen and her father must become gaolers at Brühl.

"He who travels far courts many kinds of death," replied Monsieur Maurice; "but he escapes that which is worse -- death from ennui."

[Roberta G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was my first time reading Amelia Edwards and I was impressed by her writing style, which is really pleasant and flows wonderfully even if it belongs to another era. It's definitely not a scary story as those we, modern readers, are used to, it's definitely akin to the Gothic tradition: mysterious and supernatural elements only creep under the surface, never really thoroughly visible, and leave the reader with that sense of uneasiness and foreboding. I will definitely read more stories by her.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐

Set in post Napoleonic Germany in the fortress of Bruhl is confined a mysterious prisoner, a Frenchmen who was once an acquaintance of Napoleon. The little daughter of the commandant becomes friendly with the prisoner and learns his life is in danger. On three occasions, attempts on the prisoner's life is attempted and is warded off by a supernatural appearance, the ghost of the Frenchman prisoner's dead servant. It is revealed that the prisoner is a victim of a bitter personal enmity.

[Zlyznajek · Rating 1 out of 5]

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[Richie Kercenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable Gothic tale spun by Amelia Edwards along the lines dictated by the fin-de-siècle revival of Gothic fiction which transferred the Gothic components into an urban, modern setting.
Instead of the distressed helpless heroines and ruined castles of old, the tropes of the supernatural and the uncanny were accordingly moved to a recognizable environment. Edwards adhered to this change by making of a little girl the means of salvation to a distressed man.

Mystery dominates the novella. From beginning to end, its spell remains unbroken, especially in regard to the identity and past life of the eponymous character. The Gothic tradition of pushing the limits of human endurance is also present in the plot via the powerful and mysterious foes of Maurice who plot against his life at all times.

The overwhelming juxtaposition of past and present can be noted in the acute contrast between Maurice's bright distant past in a beautiful and opulent home, and his miserable present state of imprisonment. The peak of Gothicism in the tale is achieved by means of the ghostly appearances of Ali which give a touch of the supernatural to the story, and place part of its events under the influence of incomprehensible entities.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

An affecting novelette by one of the Victorian world's most remarkable women, who was better known for her travel writing (specifically One Thousand Miles up the Nile). An accomplished travel writer, Amelia Edwards excelled at depicting foreign locales in her fiction. This story, set in Germany, is less a ghost story than a story of attachment and devotion. I'd give too much away to expand on how Edwards develops that theme, but the plot revolves around an impressionable young German girl and a noble prisoner who is also something of a Napoleonic war hero. In late age, the girl (now woman) looks back and recalls a singular period of her life. There's a pleasing if somewhat sentimental twist at the end.