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Cousin Phillis

Cousin Phillis (1863–1864) is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. It was first published in four parts in The Cornhill Magazine,[1] though a fifth and sixth part were planned.[2] Later it was published in book form, including an edition in 1908 with illustrations by Mary Wheelhouse.[3] The story is about 19-year-old Paul Manning,[nb 1] who moves to the country and befriends his mother's family and his (second) cousin Phillis Holman, who is confused by her own placement at the edge of adolescence.[4]

Most critics agree that Cousin Phillis is Gaskell's crowning achievement in the short novel.[5] The story is uncomplicated;[2] its virtues are in the manner of its development and telling. Cousin Phillis is also recognized as a fitting prelude for Gaskell's final and most widely acclaimed novel, Wives and Daughters, which ran in Cornhill Magazine from August 1864 to January 1866.

In 1982 a BBC television adaptation Cousin Phillis starring Anne-Louise Lambert, Tim Woodward and Ian Bannen.

Characters

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  • Paul Manning (the narrator, Phillis's cousin)
  • Mr Manning (Paul's father and inventor)
  • Mr Edward Holdsworth (railway engineer)
  • Mr Holman (independent church minister and farmer)
  • Mrs Holman
  • Miss Phillis Holman
  • Mr Ellison (Mr Manning's business partner)
  • Miss Lucille Ventadur (at last Mr Holdsworth's wife)
  • Betty (the servant at Holman house)

Style

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Cousin Phillis resists categorisation to a certain extent, being situated between a short story and a novel. This was a rare form in Victorian fiction, but one favoured by Gaskell. The piece is a presented in a remembered form mimicking an anecdote. Set in the 1840s, it deals with themes of social change in an isolated rural community that is reflected other works such as Cranford or North and South.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Part I was published in The Cornhill Magazine, volume VIII, number 47 (November 1863), part II in volume VIII, number 48 (December 1863), part III in volume IX, number 49 (January 1864), and part IV in volume IX, number 50 (February 1864).
  2. ^ a b Aiko, Watanabe (2008-02-28). "The Use of Pastoral and the Problem of Change in Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South and Cousin Phillis". 早稲田大学大学院文学研究科紀要 第2分冊 英文学 フランス語フランス文学 ドイツ語ドイツ文学 ロシア語ロシア文化 中国語中国文学. 53. ISSN 1341-7525.
  3. ^ Mrs Gaskell (1908). Cousin Phillis. George Bell & Sons.
  4. ^ Rogers, Philip (1995-06-01). "The Education of Cousin Phillis". Nineteenth-Century Literature. 50 (1): 27–50. doi:10.2307/2933872. ISSN 0891-9356. JSTOR 2933872.
  5. ^ Shattock, Joanne, ed. (2010). The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1830-1914. Cambridge Companions to Literature. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CCOL9780521882880. ISBN 9780521882880.
  6. ^ Keating, Peter (1986). "Introduction". Cranford / Cousin Phillis. London: Penguin Classics. pp. 7–31.

Notes

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  1. ^ Paul is seventeen at the beginning of the story, but he turns nineteen before meeting his cousin Phillis.
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