''Griffith Gaunt, or Jealousy'' is an 1866

sensation novel The sensation novel, also sensation fiction, was a literary genre of fiction that achieved peak popularity in Great Britain in the 1860s and 1870s.I. Ousby ed., ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English'' (1995) p. 844 Its literary forebears i ...

by Charles Reade. A best-selling book in its day, it was thought by Reade to be his best novel, but critics and posterity have generally preferred '' The Cloister and the Hearth'' (1861).Dianne Vitanza
Naturalism in Charles Reader's Experimental Novel, Griffith Gaunt
in Harrison, Kimberly & Richard Fantina, eds. ''Victorian Sensations: Essays on a Scandalous Genre''. Ohio State University Press, 2006. James D. Hart
The Popular Book: A History of America's Literary Taste
pp. 123–124 (story of publication) and 308 (listing ''Griffith Gaunt'' among "most widely read" books in America for the period; the only other listed for 1866 is ''

Snow-Bound ''Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl'' is a long narrative poem by American poet John Greenleaf Whittier first published in 1866. The poem, presented as a series of stories told by a family amid a snowstorm, was extremely successful and popular in its t ...

'').

Background

Reade's ''Hearth'', set in the 15th century, was not especially successful when released in 1861. Reade decided the public "don't care about the dead," and so endeavoured to focus on more contemporary topics of scandal, while still trying to convey a social purpose in his work. First serialized in the new British '' Argosy'' magazine, with illustrations by William Small, and in the American ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' (December 1865 – November 1866),John Sutherland
The Longman Companion to Victorian Fiction
p. 266. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2013.Ellery Sedgwick
The Atlantic Monthly, 1857–1909: Yankee Humanism at High Tide and Ebb
pp. 91–92, 1994. ''Gaunt'' delivered "a highly colored story of bigamy, murder, and mistaken identity among eighteenth-century gentry" with "almost pathological sensationalism". Attacks on the book's morality came mainly from the American press, not the English. The New York ''Round Table'' said the novel was "indecent" and even the "lowest sensational weekly papers" would not publish it. Extracts from the review reappeared in other papers, including the ''London Review''. Reade penned letters of rebuke to newspaper editors, including one entitled "The Prurient Prude", which was republished widely. As the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

'' commented, the attacks on the book's morality and Reade's responses gave it great popularity, and they "fear to injure the popularity of ''Griffith Gaunt'' by stating that it is not a whit immoral nor dangerous." 10 November 1866
New York Theatre – Griffith Gaunt
''

'', p. 5, col. 2. Reade, suing for defamation, had the actor and elocutionist George Vandenhoff read much of the novel to the jury. Reade was awarded six cents and gained extra publicity for his book.Richard Fantina
Victorian Sensational Fiction: The Daring Work of Charles Reade
pp. 28–30, 2010. Hudson, Frederic
Journalism in the United States, from 1690–1872
pp. 748–749, 1873. 11 August 1866
Did Charles Reade Write "Griffith Gaunt"? (letter to editor)
''The Round Table'', p. 23. 27 February 1869
"Griffith Gaunt" in court; Charles Reade's action for libel against the editors of the Round Table – the trial commenced
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. 13 October 1866
Mr. Charles Reade's Letter
''The Round Table'', pp. 176–177. 1 December 1866
Mr. Charles Reade's Masterpiece of Plagiary
''The Round Table'', pp. 289–90. Reade's friendly fellow novelist

Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1859), a mystery novel and early "sensation novel", and for ''The Moons ...

sought to have

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

testify on Reade's behalf at the trial. Dickens declined, finding it "the work of a highly accomplished writer and a good man", but with passages he would not have published himself. In a much-followed American scandal and a six-month trial in 1875,

Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...

was sued by

Theodore Tilton Theodore Tilton (October 2, 1835 – May 29, 1907) was an American newspaper editor, poet and abolitionist. He was born in New York City to Silas Tilton and Eusebia Tilton (same surname). On his twentieth birthday, October 2, 1855, he married ...

for committing adultery with his wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth claimed in part that her actions were influenced by reading ''Gaunt'', and the novel was dissected in depth at the trial.Korobkin, Laura Hanft
Silent Woman, Speaking Fiction: Charles Reade's Griffith Gaunt (1866) at the Adultery Trial of Henry Ward Beecher
in Harman, Barbara Leah and Susan Meyer, eds., ''The New Nineteenth Century: Feminist Readings of Underread Victorian Fiction'', 1996. Malcolm Elwin's 1931 biography of Reade called ''Gaunt'' "one of the most important novels of its generation".

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

also wrote favourably of "the much abused" novel.Pollard, Arthur
Griffith Gaunt: Paradox of Victorian Melodrama
''Critical Quarterly'', September 1975, pp. 221–227 (Vol. 17, Issue 3).Donald, David Herbert (30 January 2000)

''

''Fox, Richard Wightman. ''Trials of Intimacy: Love and Loss in the Beecher-Tilton Scandal'', 1999.

Plot summary

Here is a plot summary taken from a 1917 anthology of literature:

Griffith Gaunt, a gentleman without fortune, marries Catharine Peyton, a Cumberland heiress, who is a devout Roman Catholic. After living happily together for eight years, the couple—each of whom has a violent temper, in the husband combined with insane jealousy—are gradually estranged by Catharine's spiritual adviser, Father Leonard, an eloquent young priest. Griffith discovers his wife and Leonard under apparently suspicious circumstances; and after a violent scene he rides away, with the intention of never returning. He reaches an inn in an adjoining county, where he is nursed through a fever by the innkeeper's daughter, Mercy Vint. Assuming the name of his illegitimate brother, Thomas Leicester, to whom he bears a superficial resemblance, he marries Mercy. Returning to his old home to obtain a sum of money belonging to him, he is reconciled to Catharine by her earlier adviser, Father Francis. Under a false pretext he goes back to the inn to break with Mercy; but finding it more difficult than he had anticipated, he defers final action, and returns to Cumberland. Here he is received by Catharine with furious reproaches and threats against his life; his crime having been disclosed to her through the real Leicester, and her maid Caroline Ryder. Griffith disappears; a few days after, a body that is discovered in the mere near the house is identified as his. Mrs. Gaunt is indicted for his murder, and pleads her own cause. The trial is going against her, when Mercy appears and proves that Griffith is alive, and that the body is that of Leicester. Griffith and Catharine are again reconciled, and Mercy marries Catharine's former lover, Sir George Neville. The scene is laid in the middle of the 18th century.C. D. Warner, et al
The Library of the World’s Best Literature
1917.

Adaptations

The novel was soon adapted for the stage by

Augustin Daly John Augustin Daly (July 20, 1838June 7, 1899) was one of the most influential men in American theatre during his lifetime. Drama critic, theatre manager, playwright, and adapter, he became the first recognized stage director in America. He exer ...

to capitalize on its success. The book form was released in October 1866 – Daly wrote the play in four days, and it received its first performance on 7 November 1866 at the New York Theatre with John K. Mortimer and

Rose Eytinge Rose Eytinge (November 21, 1835 – December 20, 1911) was a Jewish American actress and author. She is thought to be the first American actor to earn a three figure salary. Biography Eytinge was born November 21, 1835 in Philadelphia, ...

in the lead roles. It ran for six weeks.Memories of Daly's theatres
p. 21, 1897. A second adaptation also appeared soon.(20 December 1866)
Two Griffith Gaunts in the Field
''

Philadelphia Evening Telegraph The Philadelphia ''Evening Telegraph'' was a newspaper published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1864 to 1918. The paper was started on January 4, 1864, by James Barclay Harding and Charles Edward Warburton. Warburton served as publisher unti ...

'', col. 1. The novel was later dramatised by Reade himself as ''Kate Peyton's Lovers'' by the early 1870s and revised and performed as ''Jealousy'' in 1878.

Charles Wells Moulton Charles Wells Moulton (1859–1913) was an American poet, critic, editor, and publisher. He was the founding editor of '' The Magazine of Poetry and Literary Review'', and the publisher of ''A Woman of the Century A, or a, is the first le ...

, ed
The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors, Vol. VIII, 1875–1890
p. 527, 1904. The American humorist

Charles Henry Webb Charles Henry Webb (January 24, 1834 – May 24, 1905) was an American poet, author and journalist. He was particularly known for his parodies and humorous writings. Biography Webb was born at Rouse's Point, New York in 1834. Webb worked as ...

released a parody entitled ''Liffith Lank, or Lunacy''. Webb, Charles Henry
Liffith Lank; or Lunacy
1866.

Background

Plot summary

Adaptations

References

External links