Falkland, Book I

Falkland, Book I

Erasmus Falkland, retired to the ruined house of L—, writes to his friend the Hon. Frederick Monkton, rejecting Monkton's account of London's gay "season" as tiresome and preferring his self-chosen solitude. Near his home stands Mr. Mandeville's deserted villa of E—, whose grounds he wanders freely by the gardener's leave, indulging idle reverie by a brook. Pressed by Monkton for the story of his life, Falkland writes a series of letters recounting his past. His mother was Spanish, his father an old-fashioned Tory country gentleman of ancient but obscure name, hospitable only rarely and proud rather than sociable. Falkland's boyhood was spent roaming alone with a Danish dog and a wild pony, forming an early devotion to solitary thought. His father died suddenly, and his mother, unable to survive him, followed within three months, first reminding Falkland of his Spanish blood and urging him to remember what he owed to her degraded country. His uncle, a dull but respected Member of Parliament, became his guardian and sent him to school, where his bold, oppression-hating temper made him a leader of the unruly and a protector of the weak, though he cared little for ordinary boyish pursuits, preferring solitary rambles and old legends during vacations at his romantic ancestral home. At his next stage, under a private tutor in D—e, Falkland experienced a passion he will not fully disclose: a love whose object died unhappy, her memory sealed in him as an unspeakable grief that shaped his subsequent melancholy philosophy. Devoting himself afterward to intense, feverish study, he fell dangerously ill, and emerged aged in mind though young in years, thereafter unable to find real enjoyment in pleasure, women, wine, society, or solitary study, though he cultivated an outward calm. At Oxford he excelled at nothing, disdaining the petty ambitions of his fellow students. Inheriting his estates at twenty-one, he went to London, tasted society, and quickly saw through its flattery, self-interest, and vulgarity, whether in fortune-hunting mothers, place-seeking fathers, or debt-ridden sons. Disillusioned, he travelled abroad, seeking wisdom and love but finding only knowledge and disappointment, moving restlessly between dissipation and study. Returning to England, he shifted from private to public sympathies, loving mankind in the abstract while distrusting individuals, and secretly involved himself in political affairs and the science of a new political economy that opposed governmental interference, working behind a mask of idle pleasure-seeking. Yet ambition brought him no satisfaction, partly from disillusion with its ends and partly because of a persistent physical complaint of the heart, and above all because he lacked one person to love and be loved by in return, the early dream of such love having "passed" and never returned. Wearied rather than betrayed by the world, he resolved on retirement, settling into his present solitude, softened only by his enduring friendship with Monkton. In further letters Falkland describes the pleasures of his idle days at L— and E—, defends his indolence, and turns to a study of history, arguing—against Bolingbroke—that historical precedent chiefly serves to sanction and perpetuate abuses and prejudice rather than instruct. The narrative then turns to Lady Emily Mandeville, daughter of the Duke of Lindvale, married at sixteen to the wealthy, complacent, politically absorbed Mr. Mandeville, a man of no distinguishing quality who leaves her emotionally unengaged. Delicate in health, she retreats for the summer to E— with her small son Henry, accompanied by Lady Margaret Leslie (Falkland's relation) and the widowed Mrs. Dalton. Mr. Mandeville's letters to her are wholly occupied with corn-law politics and parliamentary business, showing little personal warmth. Exploring the grounds with her son, Emily comes upon Falkland asleep by the lake with a volume of Shakespeare open to a passage on love's rough course; struck by his stern, mournful countenance, she says nothing of the encounter to her companions. The next evening Falkland dines at E— on Lady Margaret's invitation; Emily is struck by his wit, melancholy, and commanding presence, and he returns repeatedly under the pretext of visiting his relation. In letters to Monkton, Falkland describes Emily's beauty and gentle, innocent manner, professes that his emotions are now too "satiated" to be endangered by her, and resolves that so pure a heart shall never be harmed through him — even as the narrative notes the self-deception in such vows. Despite his declared safeguards, the two grow steadily closer through shared walks and evening conversations, their mutual attachment deepening in the secluded, romantic setting of E—, described by the narrator as the dangerous, unacknowledged birth of a mutual love, closing with a reflection on how country solitude, unlike the distractions of town, concentrates and intensifies such feeling.

By Edward Bulwer-lytton · First published 1834 · Genre: Romance, Gothic, Drama · 10,873 words

First lines

FROM ERASMUS FALKLAND, ESQ., TO THE HON. FREDERICK MONKTON.

L -- -, May -- , 1822.

What this Textopian page supports

Falkland, Book I is listed on Textopian as a novel by Edward Bulwer-lytton, dated 1834 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Good citation fit

Discussion starters

Similar titles

Genres

Tags

Historical Fiction · Romance · Adventure · Nautical · 19th Century · British Literature · Maritime History · Falkland Islands · Sea Voyage · Pirate Fiction · Swashbuckling · Action-Packed

More by Edward Bulwer-lytton