Transcriber’s Note:
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
“The Last Watch.”
“Lo! sinks the sun beneath the Bawn co Pagh
Amidst a perfect sea of yellow gold.”
—Act VI., Scene III.—“Isola.”
FORTUNATUS ON THE HEIGHTS OF AVENAMORE
“The youth upon whose head a price is set,
—Young Fortunatus—is this Isola, ...
And leads as Fortunatus the unknown.”
—Act IV., Scene III.—“Isola.”
ISOLA;
or,
THE DISINHERITED.
A
Revolt for Woman and all the disinherited.
BY
LADY FLORENCE DIXIE,
WITH REMARKS THEREON
BY
GEORGE JACOB HOLYOAKE, Esq.
“Heed not the human sneer, the world lives on
Long after those who jeer are dead and gone.
And the ripe products of the fertile brain,
Will live and reproduce fair fruit again.
Thus thou shalt sow, though other hands will reap,
Perchance long after thou hast sunk to sleep.
But, fear not. Thought is Life. It cannot die,
And men will honour what they now deny.”
(“The Coming of Alastor,” in The Songs of a Child.)
LONDON:
The Leadenhall Press, Ltd: 50, Leadenhall Street, E.C.
Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., Ltd:
New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 153–157, Fifth Avenue.
The Leadenhall Press, Ltd:
50, LEADENHALL STREET, LONDON. E.C.
T 4,793.
Dedication.
TO
GEORGE JACOB HOLYOAKE, Esq.,
IN ADMIRATION
OF
HIS LONG AND COURAGEOUS FIGHT
AGAINST
SUPERSTITION, INJUSTICE, AND OPPRESSION,
AND OF
HIS FEARLESS DETERMINATION EVER TO SPEAK
AND UPHOLD
The Truth,
THIS DRAMA, LIKEWISE APPEALING FOR JUSTICE TO ALL
LIVING THINGS AND THE RECOGNITION OF TRUTH,
IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY
THE AUTHOR.
FIRST PREFACE.
Isola demands the practice of the true laws of the only true God.
The drama demands Justice for all living things, from Ruler to Subject, of either sex, and for the brute Creation.
It advocates the Reign of Truth and the destruction of Humbug.
Look at the World and what the latter has produced!
Let Truth take the place of The Lie.
Let rational laws in Church and State prevail, fashioned in accordance with the laws of the Universe.
Shall Progress be deterred by antiquated ideas and opinions founded on imperfect Knowledge?
No. The antiquated ideas and opinions must be swept away. The result will be Freedom.
Florence Dixie.
1877.
SECOND PREFACE.
Isola first appeared in Young Oxford in September, 1902, and ran in serial form for six months through that publication. The drama itself was written many years ago. It is not for me to deal with its merits or demerits. These are handled generously by the true-hearted and honest gentleman to whom I have the honour to dedicate the piece. At nineteen or twenty the heart is more concerned with ideals, than the brain with thoughts of literary excellence. The soul, longing to uphold Truth and destroy Falsehood, forgets the p’s and q’s of literary etiquette, and I fear influences the pen to give premier consideration to the former.
The drama, Isola, opposes many established customs, but if these rest their claim to existence on antiquated and erroneous ideas, they must be remorsely uprooted. Man cannot make lasting laws. That is in Nature’s power alone, for Progress, Research and enlarged Thought Force will not be bound by the cramped and immature ideas of gloomy ages gone. Superstition has persecuted many, but the time has come to repudiate it, for in its wake follows Misery, and to it is due the sorrows of Mankind.
In my preface to Young Oxford occurs the following paragraph:
“Let us in imagination soar above our Earth and look down on it revolving in space, and then look round on that infinite space, in which myriads of other worlds are also revolving. As we look down on our Earth, shall we not see upon its surface the glories of Nature’s beauty, and the hideous scars inflicted thereon by Man? As we look down on these unsavory sights, and realise how contemptible they are, shall we not resolve to eradicate them and make the picture one of peace, contentment and joy? Instead of looking down on blood, carnage, cruelty, torture, suffering and injustice, let us look down on the reverse, and in order to do so, let us realise the simple, rational and natural ideas of ‘Isola.’ Advanced, are they? Not a bit of it. Unusual? Maybe. But because they are unusual does not make them wrong. Nothing Natural can be aught but right, for it is the offspring of Nature, the only true God. ‘Isola’ demands the practice of the true laws of the only true God.”
I shall always stand by this assertion.
In conclusion, I desire to make the following statement. My publishers have pointed out to me that in some of the names of places and countries I have chosen, there might arise cause for the belief that my characters in Isola are drawn from life. I am glad to here state frankly that, in so far as royal personages are concerned, they are purely fictitious and concern no living human being whatever. Customs and etiquettes I certainly openly attack. Who would not who desires, as I do, to see justice done, not only to the poor disinherited human and suffering non-human, but also to our disinherited and manacled rulers? The unjust laws in regard to woman I also vigorously attack, and for Superstitious Falsehood I have no reverence whatever. Nevertheless, judge me as they may, let no one accuse me of Mockery or Infidelity, for I innately worship the Inscrutable and believe in Nature, both of which are God alone. Let us have “Truth at any price,” no matter what idols we have to cast down to attain it. In the attainment of Truth, Justice, Love and Kindness shall rule in the place of Selfishness, Cruelty and Greed, and Fair Play be meted out to all.
Florence Dixie.
