Andrew Davies »

Andrew James Davies (BA Wales, MA Wales) is a third-year PhD student at Cardiff University. His thesis focuses on the representations of Wales in fiction of the Romantic era, considering issues such the impact of novels and tales written that include a significant degree of Welsh interest in the context of the development of the marketplace for romantic fiction and in the light of the emergence of the regional novel as associated with Scott, Edgeworth and Owenson.
A significant part of this research includes the compilation of a checklist of Anglo-Welsh fiction of the Romantic period, using the Corvey Microfiche Edition and the existing titles in the Salisbury Library at the Arts and Social Sciences Library at Cardiff University. This will eventually be extended to include other collections to produce a more comprehensive survey than is available at present.

Copyright Information

This article is copyright © 1999 Centre for Editorial and Intertextual Research, and is the result of the independent labour of the scholar or scholars credited with authorship. The material contained in this document may be freely distributed, as long as the origin of information used has been properly credited in the appropriate manner (e.g. through bibliographic citation, etc.).

Referring to this Article

A. J. DAVIES. ‘ “The Gothic Novel in Wales” Revisited: A Preliminary Survey of the Wales-Related Romantic Fiction at Cardiff University’, Cardiff Corvey: Reading the Romantic Text 2 (June 1998).

Online: Internet (date accessed): https://www.romtext.org.uk/articles/cc02_n01/

'The Gothic Novel in Wales' Revisited

A Preliminary Survey of the Wales-Related Romantic Fiction at Cardiff University

I

James Henderson’s article ‘The Gothic Novel in Wales (1790–1820)’ provides a useful starting point for a study of Wales-related fiction of the romantic period. [1] Examining the extent to which Wales was used as a setting for the gothic novel between 1790 and 1820 he concludes that ‘as a literary type the Gothic novel set in Wales never made an appearance, although the development of such a species could reasonably have been expected’. [2] Indeed, a cursory browse through any gothic bibliography will demonstrate that Wales did not fare as well as Scotland and Ireland in this respect, despite possessing the requisite sublime landscapes and vestiges of former grandeur. Nevertheless, the fact that Wales for the most part failed to capture the imagination of gothic novelists should not diminish the significance of a sizeable body of fiction, which is, to varying degrees, concerned with or set in Wales. In his accompanying checklist Henderson identifies forty-eight works of fiction that ‘immediately indicate’ Welsh interest. [3] However, this figure of forty-eight does require revision. I would contend for the following reasons that of these forty-eight titles, four are not worthy of inclusion in such a checklist.

Firstly, and least disputable, is a simple matter of ambiguous titling concerning The Novice; or, the Heir of Montgomery Castle (London: Minerva Press, 1814; 3 vols) by the pseudonymous Matthew Moral. [4] It would be tempting to think that the subtitle referred to Montgomery Castle in Powys, replete with its connections to John Donne and George Herbert. Yet the novel is in fact set in the Scottish border country, where the fictitious edifice is situated. Secondly, one of the titles that Henderson includes in his checklist is, as he notes, a novel for children, namely the anonymous Travels of a British Druid; or the Journal of Elynd (London: Hatchard, 1811; 2 vols). It would be misleading to consider this novel in the context of the market for fiction read by adults, which was to a large degree a separate entity. Its inclusion in Henderson’s checklist may tempt one to do exactly this. Thirdly, The Cottage of Merlin Vale (London, 1809; 2 vols) by J. Morrington is listed by Henderson as being held in the National Library of Wales, although he does admit to not having seen the novel. It has not been found there in a recent search and my attempts to locate it on the library’s OPAC have proved fruitless. Given that the work from its title alone cannot be confirmed as having any definite Welsh interest, although a suggestion is present, it would be speculative to include the novel in a checklist. Indeed, contemporary reviews fail to shed any light on this matter, the Quarterly Review in May 1809 listing the novel as being a ‘rational, moral, sentimental, literary and entertaining history founded on facts’. It is probable that the novel did exist as it was also mentioned in the Edinburgh Review in July of the same year, although the title could equally have been obtained from a publisher’s list and never printed. [5] Similarly, the anonymous The Bard of Snowden [sic] and his Daughter (1818; 2 vols) has not been found in any other sources and would almost certainly appear to be a ‘ghost’ title that was not in fact published. [6] The scarcity of additional information in Henderson’s entry would seem to attest this. He lists no holdings, no publisher, and again acknowledges that the novel was not examined by him. [7] Allowing then, for the four exceptions outlined above, there remain forty-four titles with verified Welsh connections from the original list of forty-eight.

Henderson lists seventeen of the titles in his checklist as being found in the Salisbury Library, which is now housed at the Arts and Social Sciences Library (ASSL) at Cardiff University. My own research has found that there are in fact nineteen items from Henderson’s checklist in the Salisbury Library, although it is not simply the case that I have found two titles that Henderson may have overlooked, or that these are recent accessions, as these conflicting figures may initially suggest. [8] In fact three of those seventeen titles that Henderson states are part of the Salisbury Library have since been listed as missing. These three novels that are missing from the Salisbury Library are: the aforementioned Travels of a British Druid; or the Journal of Elynd (London: Hatchard, 1811; 2 vols) by ‘a Clergyman’; W. S.Wickenden’s Bleddyn; a Welch National Tale (See entry 33 for publication details); and the first edition of The Welsh Cottage by Olivia More (Wellington, Salop: Houlston and Son, 1820). The second and third editions of The Welsh Cottage (1822 and 1828 respectively) are, however, still to be found there—so the novel is in fact present at the library. Therefore, only fifteen of the seventeen titles that Henderson lists as part of the library are in fact now locatable there. However, four titles that are on Henderson’s checklist, but not recorded by him as being held in the Salisbury Library, have in fact been discovered during my own survey. They are: an imperfect copy of Sir Owen Glendowr [sic], and other Tales, by the pseudonymous Anthony Frederick Holstein (London: Minerva Press, 1808); The Bard; or, the Towers of Morven by Evan Jones (London: Printed for the Author and Sold by R. Dutton, 1809); The Welsh Mountaineer by Catharine Hutton (London: Longman [et al.], 1817); and The Journal of Llewellin Penrose by William Williams (London: Murray, 1815). [9] It is also worth noting that the Salisbury Library includes two Wales-related novels from the romantic period that have not been found in any other sources. They are the first edition of the above The Bard; or, the Towers of Morven by Evan Jones, and Robert Evans’s The Stranger; or, Llewellyn Family (London: Minerva Press, 1798), both of which appear to be unique to the library. [10]

Another source of titles available in the ASSL is the Corvey Microfiche Edition (CME) of English titles, which includes more than 2,000 novels from the period 1796–1834, belonging to the Corvey Library at Höxter in Germany. This collection includes in all thirty-one titles from Henderson’s list, of which fourteen duplicate those in the Salisbury Library. The ASSL thus gives access to thirty-six of the forty-four titles, with verified Welsh connections, from Henderson’s original list of forty-eight. The following amended checklist is, then, primarily a list of those titles from Henderson’s article that are available at the ASSL through the Salisbury Library or the CME. It is intended neither as a definitive list of romantic fiction that deals with Wales, nor as a straightforward revision of Henderson’s original survey. By the same token it is not offered as a complete listing of such fiction available from either collection; nor does it seek to qualify the criteria used to determine what is and what is not considered a work of fiction with Welsh interest, beyond confirming that all the works listed below have at least some semblance of acquaintance with Wales. The following appendix is then, perhaps best viewed as a preliminary list of the romantic fiction with Welsh interest that we have available at Cardiff.


II

  • The entries have been arranged with the author on the first line. Where the author’s name does not appear on the title-page and has been obtained from a credible source or been traced through my own research, the name appears in square brackets. Similarly, if portions of the name have been omitted in the title-page these have been enclosed in brackets in the entry. This is followed by the entire title in italics as it appears on the title-page—although capitalization has been standardized. Instances where the copy of the text consulted is a subsequent edition will be noted inside square brackets before the title, e.g. [2nd edn] or [reissue] in the case of an unspecified later edition.
  • The title is in turn followed in round brackets by the whole of the publisher’s imprint, including place of publication, addresses and details of booksellers where present, and lastly the year of publication. The capitalization and punctuation has, however, also been standardized so that the place of publication is given at the beginning, followed by a colon and the rest of the imprint as it appears on the title-page, although a comma is always used to precede the date. In cases where the imprint includes redundant or unnecessary punctuation this has been removed for the sake of neatness and consistency.
  • After the publisher’s imprint appears the format of the work, established by counting leaves between signatures. Only the number of the last paginated page (roman and arabic) in each volume will be given in each breakdown. If a work contains a preface, dedication or address to the reader that is unpaginated, this will be noted in the last field as (unn.) [see below].
  • The holding libraries follow, with items found in the Salisbury Library appearing in red print and Corvey items in blue print, the edition providing the entry being cited first. In instances where the same item is found in both collections, that from the Salisbury Library will form the basis of the entry as the main copy, due to the fact that it is an actual copy of the work as opposed to a microfiche reproduction. The ISBN of the CME fiche follows each Corvey citation. However, in cases where the Corvey copy is an earlier edition or the Salisbury Library copy is imperfect, the Corvey copy will take precedence. There then follows a list of other libraries where the item can be found, with the source of information (Eighteenth-Century or Nineteenth-Century Short-Title Catalogues [ESTC/NSTC]) given first, along with the relevant catalogue number, before the holding libraries themselves in round brackets. The letters BI before a list of holding libraries denotes that they are to be found in Britain and Ireland, and similarly the letters NA denote libraries in North America. For the purpose of consistency the abbreviations for holding libraries are the same as those used in the ESTC, even when the source of the holding is the NSTC. Where the edition referred to does not appear in the ESTC or NSTC, this will be denoted by a preceding ‘x’ (e.g. xESTC). If a catalogue states that an item at a particular library is imperfect, it will be noted in square brackets after the abbreviation for that library. In instances where an item found at the Salisbury Library or in the CME is imperfect, it will be pointed out in the note field.
  • The note field, which follows the list of holdings, is marked by an asterisk, and will be used for other relevant information, e.g. further editions, translations, notable prefaces (paginated and otherwise), anomalies in various catalogues and other miscellaneous information about the work or author.

(1)
ANON.
The Fair Cambrians. A Novel. In Three Volumes. (London: Printed for William Lane, Leadenhall-Street, 1790). I 240p; II 240p; III 240p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG30 (1790); ESTC t046475 (BI L; NA AzU, MH-H).
* The Salisbury Library copy has the following hand-written inscription on the fly-leaf of the 1st vol., ‘The motto, and the lines in Capitals which preceed [sic] each Chapter were inserted by the ingenious publisher without the knowledge of the author, for these, and the numerous faults in the printing she acknowledges herself indebted to him’. This is accompanied by numerous corrections throughout the book in the same hand. There, therefore, seems a to be good case for stating that this may have been the author’s personal copy and this inscription would obviously imply female authorship.

(2)
ANON.
The Families of Owen and De Montfort. A Tale of Ancient Days. In Three Volumes. (London: Printed at the Minerva Press for A. K. Newman and Co. Leadenhall-Street, 1819). I iii, 228p; II 222p; III 202p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-47607-0; NSTC 2O6929 (BI L, O).
* Preface. ‘To the Reader’, signed ‘The Author’.

(3)
ANON.
Howard Castle; or a Romance from the Mountains. In Five Volumes. By a North Briton. (London: Printed at the Minerva Press for A. K. Newman and Co. Leadenhall-Street, 1817). I vii, 295p; II 292p; III 304p; IV 288p; V 302p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-47745-X; NSTC 2N10031 (BI L).
* Preface ‘to the Public’.

(4)
ANON.
Maurice Powell: An Historical Welsh Tale of England’s Troubles. In Three Volumes. (London: Printed for Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Paternoster-Row, 1821). I 263p; II 272p; III 352p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG 16.9.A; Corvey; CME 3-628-48199-6; NSTC 2P23803 (BI L, O).

(5)
ANON.
The Orphans of Llangloed. A Modern Tale. In Three Volumes. By the Author of Lusignan. (London: Printed at the Minerva-Press, for Lane and Newman, Leadenhall-Street, 1802). I 256p; II 298p; III 235p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-48316-6; xNSTC.

(6)
ANON.
Scenes in Wales; or, the Maid of Llangolf. By a Clergyman. (London: Printed by J. Wright, Denmark Court, for R. H. Westley, 159 Strand, and E. Hennah, St. Austell, Cornwall, 1802). viii, 219p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG16.9.A; Corvey; CME 3-628-48532-0; xNSTC.
* ECB dates Mar 1802. Collates in sixes.

(7)
ANON.
Vesuvia; or, Anglesea Manor. A Novel. In Three Volumes. By the Author of Valambrosa [sic], and Forresti. (London: Printed at the Minerva-Press, for Lane, Newman, and Co. Leadenhall-Street, 1807). I 282p; II 275p; III 243p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-48920-2; xNSTC.

(8)
ANON.
Welsh Legends: A Collection of Popular Oral Tales. (London: Printed by J. D. Dewick, Aldersgate-Street, for J. Badcock, Paternoster-Row, 1802). vi, 280p, ill. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG7.W; Corvey; CME 3-628-51169-0; NSTC W1193 (BI L).
* Salisbury Library copy frontispiece states, ‘Publish’d as the Act directs Nov. 1 1801 by Earle and Hemet, Albemarle Street Piccadilly’. Includes five legends, the 2nd of which is in verse. ECB dates 1801 and gives Earle as publisher. It also attributes the work to William Earle, perhaps through a confusion of this work with Earle’s The Welshman. Block also attributes to William Earle (jun.), [11] though the British Library Catalogue (BLC) and National Union Catalog (NUC) treat as anonymous. Collates in sixes.

(9)
[BEAUCLERC, Amelia].
Eva of Cambria; or, the Fugitive Daughter. A Novel. In Three Volumes. By Emma de Lisle, Author of The Soldier’s Offspring, &c. &c. (London: Printed at the Minerva-Press, for A. K. Newman and Co. (Successors to Lane, Newman, & Co.) Leadenhall-Street, 1811). I 264p; II 269p; III 279p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-48106-6; xNSTC.
* Blakey (p. 232) states that this title is not by Emma de Lisle [the pseudonym of Emma Parker], but the production of another author, mistakenly sent to the press with de Lisle’s name on the title-page; Emma de Lisle’s manuscript was later published as Fitz-Edward. See entry 27. Eva of Cambria has been attributed to Amelia Beauclerc owing to the fact that the title-page of Disorder and Order (London: Minerva, 1820) reads, ‘By Amelia Beauclerc, Author of […] Alinda, or the Child of Mystery’. Alinda (London: Crosby, 1812) is ascribed, on its title-page, to ‘the Author of […] Castle of Tariffa’. And finally, the title-page of The Castle of Tariffa (London: Crosby, 1812) states that it was written ‘by the Author of […] Eva of Cambria’.

(10)
BENNETT, Mrs [Agnes Maria].
Ellen, Countess of Castle Howel, a Novel, in Four Volumes. By Mrs. Bennett. (London: Printed for William Lane, at the Minerva Press, Leadenhall-Street, 1794). I 241p; II 240p; III 223p; IV 234p.12mo.
Salisbury Library: WG30 (1794); ESTC t073510 (BI L, O; NA CaAEU, CtY, CLU-S/C, CSmH, DLC, InU-Li, MiU [imperfect], MH-H, NcU, NjP, NNU, PU, ViU).
* Apology dated ‘London, March 12, 1794’ (3pp. unn.). List of works by the same author at the end of vol. 4.
Further edns: Dublin: Printed for Messrs. W. Jones, H. Colbert, H. Fitzpatrick, and J. Milliken, 1794. Dublin: Printed by P. Wogan, 1794. 2nd edn; London: Minerva, 1805 (Salisbury Library WG16.9.B; Corvey; CME 3-628-47251-2).

(11)
CLARK, Emily.
Ianthé, or the Flower of Caernarvon, a Novel in Two Volumes. Dedicated by Permission to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. By Emily Clark, Grand-Daughter of the Late Colonel Frederick, Son of Theodore, King of Corsica. (London: Printed for the Author; and Sold by Hookham and Carpenter, Old Bond Street, 1798). I viii, 256p; II 273p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-45021-7; ESTC t061496 (BI L [2 copies, both imperfect]; NA MH-H).
* Dedication to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. Subscription list in British Library copy.

(12)
EARLE, William (jun.).
The Welshman, a Romance, in Four Volumes. By William Earle, jun. Author of Natural Faults, a Comedy; Obi, or Three-Finger’d Jack, &c. (London: Printed by J. D. Dewick, Aldersgate Street, for Earle and Hemet, 47, Albemarle Street, Piccadilly, 1801). I xiv, 271p; II 238p; III 262p; IV 245p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-47508-2; NSTC E40 (BI L).
* Dedication ‘to him, to whom I am indebted for life […] To her, whose arms have cradled me’.

(13)
[EVANS, Robert].
The Stranger; or, Llewellyn Family. A Cambrian Tale. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed at the Minerva Press, for William Lane, Leadenhall-Street, 1798). I 314p; II 283p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG30 (1798); xESTC.
* This novel is ascribed to Robert Evans by virtue of the fact that he also wrote The Dream, or Noble Cambrians (London: Printed at the Minerva Press, 1801). The imprint title of which reads as follows: The Dream, or Noble Cambrians. A Novel. In Two Volumes. By Robert Evans, A.M. Author of The Stranger.
Further edn: French translation, 1802.

(14)
[FOSTER, Mrs E. M.].
Concealment, or the Cascade of Llantwarryhn. A Tale. In Two Volumes. By the Author of Miriam, Judith, Fedaretta, &c. (London: Printed at the Minerva-Press, for William Lane, Leadenhall-Street, 1801). I 222p; II 322p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-47307-1; xNSTC.
* ‘To The Reader’ (unn.) suggests female authorship: ‘The authoress of the ensuing work …’. ECB dates July 1801.

(15)
[FOSTER, Mrs E. M.].
Frederic & Caroline, or the Fitzmorris Family. A Novel. In Two Volumes. By the Author of Rebecca, Judith, Miriam, &c. (London: Printed at the Minerva-Press, for William Lane, Leadenhall-Street, 1800). I 256p; II 296p.12mo.
Corvey; CME; 3-628-47838-3; ESTC t068576 (BI L; NA CaAEU).
* Drop-head title and running-titles read ‘Fitzmorris’. Dedication ‘to Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales’, signed ‘E. M. F.’, in British Library copy, although this is not present in the Corvey copy.

(16)
GRIFFITHS, Griffiths ap.
The Sons of St. David. A Cambro-British Historical Tale, of the Fourteenth Century. With Explanatory Notes and References. In Three Volumes. By Griffiths ap Griffiths, Esq. (London: Printed at the Minerva Press for A. K. Newman and Co. Leadenhall-Street, 1816). I ii, 232p; II 222p; III 236p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG16.9.G; Corvey; CME 3-628-47821-9; NSTC 2G23032 (BI L, C, E, O).
* ‘Notes’ at end of each vol.

(17)
GUNNING, Elizabeth.
[2nd edn] The Orphans of Snowdon, a Novel, by Miss Gunning, Author of The Farmer’s Boy, War Office, Malvin, &c. In Three Volumes. Second Edition. (London: Printed for B. Crosby, and Co. Stationers’ Court; Lane, Newman, and Co. Leadenhall Street; and Lackington, Allen, and Co. Finsbury Square, 1807). I 240p; II 239p; III 241p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-47581-3; xESTC.
* 1st edn: London: H. Lowndes, 1797. Summers lists 1st edn as 1796.

(18)
[HATTON, Anne Julia Kemble].
[reissue] Cambrian Pictures; or, Every One Has Errors. In Three Volumes. By Ann of Swansea. (London: Printed at the Minerva Press, for A. K. Newman and Co., Leadenhall-Street, 1813).
I xxviii, 276p; II 364p; III 448p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-48741-2; xNSTC.
* Colophon of ‘B Clarke, Printer, Well-Street, London’ in all vols, and in the 1813 Corvey copy.
1st edn: London: Printed for E. Kerby, 1810. Copy at British Library has same title-page as Corvey, but with imprint date blocked out. The NSTC entry (A1350), based on this copy, follows the erroneous dating for that edn of [1810?]. Summers has publisher as Newman 1810.

(19)
[HERVEY, Elizabeth].
The Church of St. Siffrid. In Four Volumes. (London: Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, Paternoster-Row, 1797). I 267p; II 245p; III 260p; IV 351p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG30 (1797); ESTC t124771 (BI L; NA CLU-S/C, CSmH, ViU).
* Further edn: Dublin: William Porter and Nicholas Kelly, 1798; 2 vols, ‘by the author of Ned Evans’ [i.e. Elizabeth Hervey]. German translations, 1801, 1802.

(20)
HOLSTEIN, Anthony Frederick [pseud.].
Sir Owen Glendowr, and Other Tales. In Three Volumes. By Anthony Frederick Holstein. (London: Printed at the Minerva-Press, for Lane, Newman, and Co. Leadenhall-Street, 1808). I 224p; II 224p; III 191p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-51048-1; Salisbury Library WG16.9.H; xNSTC.
* Salisbury Library copy is imperfect, containing only ‘Sir Owen Glendowr’ the 1st and longest of four tales in the book. It is likely that an unscrupulous seller may have done this deliberately to arouse the interest of Enoch Robert Gibbon Salisbury (1819-90), whose collection of literature relating to Wales forms the basis of the Salisbury Library today. The defaced title-page of the Salisbury Library copy would seem to attest this—see figs 1 and 2, the Corvey and Salisbury copies respectively.

Fig. 1. Corvey Copy

Fig. 2. Salisbury Copy

(21)
HUTTON, Catharine.
The Welsh Mountaineer: A Novel. By Catharine Hutton, Author of The Miser Married. In Three Volumes. (London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Paternoster-Row, 1817).
I 264p; II 258p; III 294p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG.16.9.H; Corvey; CME 3-628-47866-9; NSTC 2H39194 (BI L, C, O; NA MH-H).
* Further edn: Philadelphia: Published by M. Thomas, 1817.

(22)
JONES, Evan.
The Bard; or, the Towers of Morven. A Legendary Tale. By Evan Jones, Royal Navy. (London: Printed for the Author, and Sold by R. Dutton, 45, Gracechurch-Street, 1809). vi, 160p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG16.9.J; xNSTC.
* Introduction, pp. [v]–vi, giving origin in North Wales tradition, and in which author apologises for ‘the numerous errors with which this first production of his pen abounds’ (p. vi). Colophon reads: ‘Printed by W. Darton, and J. and J. Harvey, Gracechurch-Street’.
Further edn: London: A. K. Newman, 1810 (Corvey; CME 3-628-51083-X). The Corvey copy has the same printer’s mark and colophon as the 1809 Dutton edn and is evidently a reissue.

(23)
[LUCAS, Charles].
Gwelygordd; or, the Child of Sin. A Tale of Welsh Origin. In Three Volumes. By the Author of The Infernal Quixote, Abyssinian Reformer, Castle of St. Donats, &c. &c. (London: Printed at the Minerva Press for A. K. Newman & Co. Leadenhall-Street, 1820). I 275p; II 322p; III 280p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG 16.9.L; Corvey; CME 3-628-47590-2; NSTC 2L24395 (BI L).

(24)
[MORE, Olivia].
The Welsh Cottage. (Wellington, Salop: Printed by and for F. Houlston and Son. And Sold by Scatcherd and Letterman, Ave-Maria Lane, London, 1820). ix, 223p, ill. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-48883-4; NSTC 2M35930 (BI O).
* ‘Entered at Stationer’s Hall’, on title-page after imprint date. Sometimes attributed erroneously to Mary M. Sherwood. Salisbury Library’s 1st edn as seen by Henderson is missing.
Further edns: 2nd edn; Wellington, Salop: F. Houlston, 1822 (Salisbury Library WG 16.9.M). The 2nd edn has ‘by Olivia More’ on title-page. 3rd edn; Wellington, Salop: F. Houlston, 1828 (Salisbury Library WG 16.9.M).

(25)
MOWER, Arthur.
The Welch Mountaineer. By Arthur Mower. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed for B. Crosby and Co. Stationers’ Court, Paternoster Row, by F. Vigurs, 5, Princes Street, Leicester Square, 1811). I xix, 147p; II 128p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG 16.9.M; Corvey; CME 3-628-48389-1; NSTC M3508 (BI L).
* Dedication ‘The Author, to Himself’, dated London, May 1811. Preface complaining of the superfluity and similarity of novels, dated London, June 1811. Summers describes as by Dr Arthur Mower of Edinburgh. Salisbury copy has been bound recently by the library but the text remains intact.

(26)
[O’KEEFFE, Adelaide].
Llewellin: A Tale in Three Volumes. Humbly Dedicated in Poetical Address to Her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales. (London: Printed and Published by G. Cawthorn, British Library, No. 132, Strand. Sold also by Messrs Richardson, Royal-Exchange; and J. Wright, Piccadilly, 1799). I ix, 334p; II 423p; III 426p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG30 (1799); Corvey; CME 3-628-45105-1; ESTC t070092 (BI L, E; NA CaOHM, CLU-S/C).
* Both Salisbury copy and British Library copy have 2nd vol. dated as 1798 [therefore ESTC dates novel as 1798/99]. Dedication dated London, 1796.

(27)
[PARKER, Emma].
Fitz-Edward; or, the Cambrians. A Novel. Interspersed with Pieces of Poetry. In Three Volumes. By Emma de Lisle, Author of A Soldier’s Offspring, Elfrida, or the Heiress of Bellegrove, &c. &c. (London: Printed at the Minerva-Press, for A. K. Newman and Co. (Successors to Lane, Newman, & Co.) Leadenhall-Street, 1811). I iii, 235p; II 204p; III 210p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-48105-8; NSTC D800 (BI E).
* Preface reads: ‘It is necessary here to observe, that this Work would have appeared many months since; but, owing to a mistake, another manuscript, the production of another author, was sent to the press instead of mine, and, through inadvertency, printed under a similar supposition. This has already been explained as far as it was possible; and I have only here to add, that the following Work is that which was announced some months ago, as being about to be published under the title of “Eva of Cambria;” but as another person’s Novel has, through an error, been published under that name, it was necessary to give a new title to the present Work’. Amelia Beauclerc was probably the true author of the published Eva of Cambria. See entry 9.

(28)
[PECK, Frances].
The Welch Peasant Boy. A Novel. In Three Volumes. By the Author of The Maid of Avon. (London: Printed at the Minerva-Press, for Lane, Newman, and Co. Leadenhall-Street, 1808). I 210p; II 170p; III 173p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-48882-6; NSTC P915 (BI L).

(29)
[PLUMPTRE, Annabella].
Montgomery; or, Scenes in Wales. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed for William Lane at the Minerva, Leadenhall Street, 1796). I 260p; II 325p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG 30 (1796); ESTC n012293 (NA MH-H, ViU).

(30)
[PURBECK, Jane].
Neville Castle; or, the Generous Cambrians. A Novel, in Four Volumes. By the Author of Raynsford Park. (London: Printed by T. Plummer, Seething-Lane; for R. Dutton, 45, Gracechurch-Street; and J. Cawthorn, Catherine-Street, Strand, 1802).
I iv, 256p; II 288p; III 299p; IV 312p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-48189-9; xNSTC.
* ‘Preface’ states that ‘the following pages were written several years since’. The writer also praises Madame de Genlis, and the authors of Camilla, and of The Mysteries of Udolpha [sic] and The Italian. Several catalogues, including Summers, attribute to the Misses Purbeck (i.e. Elizabeth and Jane). ‘Literary Intelligence’ (unn.) at the end of the 3rd vol. announcing the removal of R. Dutton’s Circulating Library from Birchin-Lane to No. 45, Gracechurch-Street, dated 2 June 1802.
Further edn: French translation, 1803.

(31)
[RYVES, Elizabeth.]
The Hermit of Snowden [sic]: Or, Memoirs of Albert and Lavinia. Taken from a Faithful Copy of the Manuscript, which was found in the Hermitage, by the Late Rev. Dr. L_____ and Mr. _____, in the year 17**. (London: Printed at the Logographic Press, (under the Direction of the Literary Society,) and Sold by J. Walter, No. 169, Piccadilly; C. Stalker, Stationers-Court, Ludgate-Street; and W. Richardson, under the Royal Exchange, 1789). xvii 230p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library: WG30 (1789); ESTC t120591 (BI L; NA CSmH, MdBJ).
* Further edns: Dublin: H. Colbert, 1790. London: Published by Barker, 1793.

(32)
[STEVENS, Grace Buchanan].
Llewellen, or, the Vale of Phlinlimmon: A Novel. In Three Volumes. (Edinburgh: Printed by John Moir, Royal Bank Close, for Macredie, Skelly, & Co. 52, Prince Street; and T. & G. Underwood, 32, Fleet Street, London, 1818). I 300p; II 270p; III 285p. 12mo.
Salisbury Library WG16.9.A; Corvey; CME 3-628-48034-5; NSTC 2S39227 (BI L, C; NA MH).

(33)
WICKENDEN, W [illiam] S.
Bleddyn; a Welch National Tale, Being the First of a Series. By W. S. Wickenden, the Bard of the Forest, Author of ‘Count Glarus of Switzerland.’ (London: Published for the Author, by C. Chapple, Royal Library, Pall-Mall, 1821). 235p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-48968-7; NSTC 2W19033 (BI L).
* Colophon reads: ‘J. Nichols and Son, 25, Parliament Street, Westminster’. There were two edns of this novel published in the same year, the other being ‘Printed for Baldwin, Cradock and Joy’, and issued in two vols, with a subscription list comprising 95 names. It is held at the National Library of Wales. The Salisbury Library copy, as examined by Henderson, is missing. It is however, unclear from his entry and the Salisbury Library’s index of missing titles which of the two editions was to be found there.

(34)
WILLIAMS, William Frederick.
Fitzmaurice: A Novel. By William Frederick Williams, Author of Sketches of Modern Life; or, Man as He Ought not to Be. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed by S. Gosnell. Little Queen Street, for J. Murray and S. Highley, No. 32, Fleet Street; and J. Harding, St. James’s Street, 1800). I vi, 210p; II 190p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-48965-2; ESTC 006003 (BI L; NA MH-H, CaAEU).
* Vol. 2 imprint differs: ‘London: Printed by Luke Hansard, Great Turnstile, Lincoln’s-Inn Fields, for J. Murray and S. Highley […]’.

(35)
WILLIAMS, William Frederick.
The Witcheries of Craig Isaf. In Two Volumes. By William Frederick Williams, Author of Tales of an Exile, The World We Live in, &c. &c. (London: Printed at the Minerva-Press, for Lane, Newman, and Co. Leadenhall-Street, 1805). I 272p; II 260p. 12mo.
Corvey; CME 3-628-48967-9; xNSTC.
* Henderson, Blakey and Summers have date as 1804. Salisbury Library copy is missing.

(36)
[WILLIAMS, William].
The Journal of Llewellin Penrose, a Seaman. In Four Volumes. (London: Printed for John Murray, Albemarle Street, and William Blackwood, Edinburgh, 1815). I xvi, 239p; II 217p; III 215p; IV 197p. 8vo.
Salisbury Library WG 16.9.W; Corvey; CME 3-628-47922-3; NSTC W2145 (BI L, C, E, O).
* Dedication to Benjamin West, Esq. and ‘Advertisement’, both signed John Eagles. Text dated New-York, 2 May 1783 at end. Williams (1727–91), who was a painter and the 1st tutor of Benjamin West, wrote the novel in America c. 1774–5, and it has been consequently claimed as the 1st novel written in America. The published version of 1815 was much altered by Williams’s benefactor in Bristol, Thomas Eagles, and was later submitted for publication by his son, the Revd John Eagles. John Murray, the publisher, offered £200, the work apparently having been read and approved by Walter Scott. For an edn based on Williams’s original manuscript and a useful introduction describing its publication history, see David Howard Dickason, Mr Penrose: The Journal of Penrose, Seaman (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969). Colophon of Salisbury Library copy and Corvey copy reads: ‘Caledonian Mercury Press, Edinburgh’.
Further edns: London: Taylor and Hessey, 1825; 1 vol. abridged (Salisbury Library: WG16.9.W). German translation, 1817.


Notes

1. ‘The Gothic Novel in Wales’, The National Library of Wales Journal 11 (1959–60), 244–54.

2. Ibid., 250.

3. Ibid., 245.

4. Identified in a number of sources as by Mrs Mary Pilkington (1766–1839). See Montague Summers, A Gothic Bibliography ( [1940]; London: Fortune Press, 1969); Frederick S. Frank, The First Gothics. A Critical Guide to the English Gothic Novel (New York: Garland Publishing, 1987); and vol. 2 of Peter Garside, James Raven and Rainer Schowerling, English Novels 17701830: A Bibliographical Survey of Fiction Published in the British Isles, Vol. 1: 1770–1799; Vol. 2: 1800–1829 (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).

5. See the Edinburgh Review 14: 519 (July 1809) and the Quarterly Review 1: 461 (May 1809).

6. This item has not been found any of the following sources: Summers, Gothic Bibliography; The English Catalogue of Books, Preliminary Volume, 1801–1836, edd. Robert Alexander Peddie and Quintin Waddington (1914; New York: Kraus Reprint Corporation, 1963); William S. Ward, Literary Reviews in British Periodicals, 17981820; a Bibliography with a Supplementary List of General (Non-Review) Articles of Literary Subjects (New York and London: Garland, 1972); and Literary Reviews in British Periodicals, 18211826; a Bibliography with a Supplementary List of General (Non-Review) Articles of Literary Subjects (New York: Garland, 1977); The Nineteenth-Century Short-Title Catalogue, Series II: 181670 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Avero, 1986–95; 56 vols); Dorothy Blakey, The Minerva Press, 17901820 (London: The Bibliographical Society, 1939).

7. As I have hinted above, Henderson’s phrasing (‘immediately indicate’) suggests that, at the time of compiling his checklist, many of the works therein were not seen by him first hand. This is shown to be the case in some twenty instances.

8. Indeed the library’s recently completed cataloguing project gives a clearer picture of the collection’s holdings than was perhaps available at Henderson’s time of writing.

9. The Journal of Llewellin Penrose is attributed by Henderson and others to John Eagles.

10. The 1810 A. K. Newman reissue of The Bard is to be found at Corvey, however.

11. Andrew Block, The English Novel 1740–1850 (1939, rev. 1961; London: Dawsons, 1968).