''Bungay Castle'' is a
gothic novel
Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...
by
Elizabeth Bonhôte
Elizabeth Bonhôte, née Mapes (baptised 11 April 1744 – 11 June 1818) was an English novelist, essayist and poet. Her most successful work was ''Bungay Castle'', a Gothic romance written after her husband had bought the ruins of the real Bung ...
, first published in
1797
Events
January–March
* January 3 – The Treaty of Tripoli, a peace treaty between the United States and Ottoman Tripolitania, is signed at Algiers (''see also'' 1796).
* January 7 – The parliament of the Cisalpine Re ...
. It is set loosely in the thirteenth century around the
First Barons' War
The First Barons' War (1215–1217) was a civil war in the Kingdom of England in which a group of rebellious major landowners (commonly referred to as barons) led by Robert Fitzwalter waged war against King John of England. The conflict resulte ...
, and follows the fortunes of the fictional De Morney family at the real
Bungay Castle
Bungay Castle is a Grade I listed building in the town of Bungay, Suffolk.[Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...]
. Bonhôte's husband purchased the ruins of this castle in 1791. The novel was published by
William Lane
William Lane (6 September 1861 – 26 August 1917) was an English-born journalist, author, advocate of Australian labour politics and a utopian socialist ideologue.
Lane was born in Bristol, England into an impoverished family. After showin ...
's
Minerva Press
Minerva Press was a publishing house, noted for creating a lucrative market in sentimental and Gothic fiction in the late 18th century and early 19th century. It was established by William Lane (c. 1745–1814) at No 33 Leadenhall Street, Lon ...
. The core themes of the novel are conservative and pro-monarchic.
Summary
Roseline and Edwin De Morney live with their father, Sir Philip De Morney, at Bungay Castle, which is near the
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
of Saint Mary's. While a student at the convent, Roseline befriends a young
novice
A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession
A profession is a field of work that has ...
there, Madeline, and brings her home to Bungay Castle. Madeline and Edwin fall in love. While Sir Philip is away, Roseline, Edwin, and Madeline explore the castle, which they suspect to be haunted, and find a gentleman, Walter, locked in a hidden apartment with his servant Albert. Albert is a
ventriloquist
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is v ...
, and the source of all the haunted sound effects. Walter and Roseline fall in love. However, Sir Philip has arranged for Roseline to marry Baron Fitzosborne, a wealthy older widower. The Baron is eager to marry in part so he can leave Bungay Castle, where he believes he is haunted by his late wife. Roseline dislikes the Baron but agrees to obey her father. However, the wedding is interrupted by Walter, who follows a secret tunnel between the castle and Saint Mary's to appear with a sword. Baron Fitzosborne realises that Walter is in fact his son, believed dead due to a scheme by his late wife and her brother. The Baron agrees that Roseline can marry his son instead of him. First, however, he introduces Walter to society in London. Walter accidentally becomes entangled with the daughter of a brothel-keeper, who attempts to trick him into marriage. He flees London for Bungay Castle to reunite with Roseline, and at last plans go forward for Walter and Roseline's wedding. Meanwhile, Madeline and Edwin have
eloped
Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...
. They disappeared shortly after Roseline's attempted wedding with the Baron, escaping the convent through the same tunnel used by Walter. They are rescued from poverty by Walter, and both Edwin and Madeline eventually reconcile with their fathers. Sir Philip's other two children, Bertha and Edeliza, make their own suitable marriages, as does the Baron, and the novel ends with optimism for everyone's futures.
Background
![James Moore - Bungay Castle - B1975](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/James_Moore_-_Bungay_Castle_-_B1975.3.600_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The real Bungay Castle was built and developed in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries before falling into disrepair after the death of
Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk
Roger Bigod (c. 1245 – bf. 6 December 1306) was 5th Earl of Norfolk.
Origins
He was the son of Hugh Bigod (1211–1266), Justiciar, and succeeded his father's elder brother Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk (1209–1270) as 5th Earl of ...
. Bonhôte, who was born in Bungay, often explored its ruins as a child in the mid-eighteenth century.
In 1791, her husband bought the site of the castle. Around 1800, he sold it to
Henry Charles Howard, 13th Duke of Norfolk, to whom the novel ''Bungay Castle'' is dedicated.
Major themes
![Daughters of King George III](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Daughters_of_King_George_III.jpg)
''Bungay Castle'' is considered a politically conservative novel, as reflected in several aspects of its plot and setting. Bonhote emphasizes in her preface that she does not want to write about politics, but the novel itself frequently compares parental governance to political governance. By praising the good household management of a father who is the ruler of his family, she expresses approval for the general idea of good governance by a virtuous king.
One parallel between the De Morney family and the monarchy is a painting described in the novel, of the three daughters playing with a dog, which resembles a painting of
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
's daughters.
Bonhote's conservative and pro-monarchical views are also reflected in her use of Bungay Castle as her setting. When Bonhôte began her novel, castles were a common setting, verging on the stereotypical. The preface to ''Bungay Castle'' describes her dissatisfaction with novels that are overly fanciful and set in foreign or imaginary castles. Bonhôte was deeply familiar with Bungay Castle in Suffolk, and used this local setting to introduce more
realism
Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to:
In the arts
*Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts
Arts movements related to realism include:
*Classical Realism
*Literary realism, a move ...
to her novel.
She also chose her historical time period to recapture the castle's days of greatest glory. During her lifetime, the ruins of the castle had been partly converted into cottages for the rural poor, which she saw as a sad waste of a building which had once been highly desired by barons and kings. Her emphasis on the restoration of Bungay Castle to its medieval glories therefore reflects a general emphasis on conservative and pro-monarchist politics in the novel.
Like many
eighteenth-century Gothic novels, ''Bungay Castle'' depicts
convents
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...
as predatory institutions which imprison women against their will.
[Pg. 97]
/ref> This depiction of convents is in keeping with the novel's overall anti-Catholic sentiments.
Publication and reception
The book's imminent publication was advertised in December 1796, and its appearance was promoted in May 1797. The date of 1796 of the title page is therefore considered inaccurate, and the 1797 date on the book's dedication as more accurate.
In October 1797, a review in ''The Critical Review'' was lukewarm. The reviewer praised Bonhôte's prose and described the hero, Walter, as "a being somewhat different from his predecessors in the dungeons," but found the plot too repetitive and the dialogue "very tame and insipid."
Editions
*Curt Herr (editor). ''Bungay Castle: A Novel'', Zittaw Press, 2006.
References
External links
''Bungay Castle''
at Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
(scanned books original editions)
*
Plot synopsis
at the Corvey Project
{{Authority control
1797 novels
English Gothic novels
Novels set in Suffolk