''The Children of the Abbey'' is a novel by the Irish romantic novelist

Regina Maria Roche Regina Maria Roche (1764–1845) is considered a minor Gothic novel, Gothic novelist, encouraged by the pioneering Ann Radcliffe. However, she was a bestselling author in her own time. The popularity of her third novel, ''The Children of the Abbe ...

. It first appeared in 1796, in London in 4 volumes, and related the tale of Amanda and Oscar Fitzalan, two siblings robbed of their rightful inheritance by a forged will. The book contains many standard Gothic elements (old mansions, a haunted abbey) in the context of a

sentimental novel The sentimental novel or the novel of sensibility is an 18th-century literary genre which celebrates the emotional and intellectual concepts of sentiment, sentimentalism, and sensibility. Sentimentalism, which is to be distinguished from sensi ...

."Regina Maria Roche: The Children of the Abbey", Cove
/ref> Roche's third novel, it was a major commercial success, remaining in print for most of the 19th century. ''The Children of the Abbey'' was mentioned in

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

's popular novel ''

Emma Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * Emma (1932 film), ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * Emma (1996 theatrical film), ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * Emma (1996 TV film), '' ...

'', in '' Emily Climbs'' by

L. M. Montgomery Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with ''Anne of Green Gables''. She ...

, and in 'Arabella' by

Georgette Heyer Georgette Heyer (; 16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brothe ...

. It is also referenced in the ''artículo costumbrista'' "El casarse pronto y mal" by the Spanish Romantic Mariano José de Larra, 1832. American essayist and Unitarian divine

Samuel McChord Crothers Samuel McChord Crothers (June 7, 1857–November 1927) was an American Unitarian minister with The First Parish in Cambridge. He was a popular essayist.Editorial (November 13, 1927). Dr. Crothers As Essayist. ''New York Times''Eliot, Frederick Ma ...

portrayed ''The Children of the Abbey'' as having given rise to "a regiment of Amandas named after the best seller of the day" around the year 1800.Samuel McChord Crothers, "The Literary Tastes of My Great Grandmother," in ''The Cheerful Giver'', p.134 (Boston and New York, 1923) (retrieved October 22, 2022).
/ref>

References

External links

* * 1796 novels Irish Gothic novels 18th-century Irish novels {{18thC-gothic-novel-stub