Over at his blog The Australian Legend, Bill is hosting a week (15-21 January) dedicated to the first generation of Australian women writers which he defines as those writers who came before the 1890s and the Sydney Bulletin ‘Bush Realism’ school, although many of them continued writing into the first part of the 20th century, though as he notes, most Australian writing before 1850 consists of letters and journals and novels only began to be published after that. What to read for this ‘week’ was an easy choice for me, because I’ve had Mr Hogarth’s Will (1865) on my TBR since Sue at her blog Whispering Gums recommended it to me, and it has turned out to be utterly absorbing reading.

Catherine Helen Spence (1825-1910) migrated to Australia in 1839 aged 14, in the wake of her father’s financial difficulties, and as Dale Spender notes in the introduction, Australia turned out to be the right place for the restoration of the family’s fortunes. As Luke Slattery showed in his novel Mrs M, Australia’s egalitarian ethos in the colony enabled social mobility even during the convict years whereas enduring class consciousness and snobbery about family ancestry in British society solidified divisions which could not be transcended. There was no way ‘up’ but there were plenty of ways ‘down’, the most obvious of which was financial embarrassment (as we see in the novels of Dickens).

But as Mr Hogarth’s Will shows with striking clarity, there were structural reasons for a decline in family fortunes. Inheritance law and custom meant that amongst the propertied classes, an eldest son inherited almost everything, while second and successive sons went into the military, the cloth or disappeared into some sort of administrative role in the far away colonies. Going into business was not gentlemanly. It was not done. And the absence of all these eligible young men in faraway places meant that there were numerous young women educated for the prospect of marriage but with little chance of achieving it. For them, if an inheritance annuity was not forthcoming, the only employment option was to be a governess.

Which is what happens to Jane and Alice (Elsie) Melville in Mr Hogarth’s Will. The eccentric Hogarth, despite the remonstrances of his lawyer, made a Will which effectively disinherited them so that they would not be courted for their fortune, and left his estate to a formerly unacknowledged illegitimate son called Francis. It was Mr Hogarth’s intention that the young ladies should be independent and work for their living, but he has not had them educated with what was essential to become governesses to other young ladies. These subjects were called The Accomplishments’ (playing piano, singing, drawing, painting, needlework, French &c); he has had them taught the ‘mannish’ subjects of Latin and Greek, mathematics, agricultural chemistry and mineralogy. Admirably educated for teaching boys, or for book-keeping, accountancy or other administrative work, Jane searches for work everywhere but the doors to employment are closed because of her gender. Alice, meanwhile, is that staple ‘delicate’ young woman of 19th century literature. Sweet, pretty and fragile, she feels the loss of their middle-class expectations more keenly than the plain and practical Jane, i.e. Alice weeps a lot and goes into a decline. Alice has grown up having allowances made for her ‘delicacy’, so in their present change of circumstances all that is expected of her is that she should try to do something not too taxing such as needlework or writing sentimental poems. Stoic Jane shoulders this burden willingly but things seem all the harder for her because she is confronted with the reality while sheltering Alice from it.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/01/15/mr-hogarths-will-by-catherine-helen-spence-b... ( )

Well I have finished my first Victorian romance since reading Dickens books as required in school as a youngster. I was surprised how good this reading experience has been. I got it accidentally as a free audiobook from LibraVox and continued it by reading and hearing for about 2 weeks to finish it. The story begins with two young women who have been raised and well educated by their Uncle in Scotland in about the 1880s with an idea of giving them the educational advantages that young middle class boys should have. Then on the death of the kindly uncle they are thrown out on their own devices because of his will. The book tells their adventures with the challenges, difficulties, failures and successes they make of their lives.

There are so many elements in the story that a review that is shorter than 10 pages cannot possibly do it justice. The locations range from rural Scotland to Edinburgh to London to Melbourne, Adelaide and the outback in Australia. There are numerous characters introduced including aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, long lost relatives, scoundrels and lawyers. Topics are touched on relating to clergy and religious belief, suffrage, politics, seances, marriage, trust, betrayal and dishonesty. As I read I was drawn deeper and deeper into the story the closer I got to the end. Overall I was pleased with everything that happened in the story, although it was a little predictable with the romantic paths that were perhaps unavoidable with a book of the time. I recommend this book to anyone who seeks a diverting fictional story about people in Victorian times with a real feel. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4224 ( )