⸺ THE WOOD OF THE BRAMBLES. (Lane). 6s. 1896.
Gives a grotesque picture, intended for vivid realism, of the rebellion. The rebels are comic savages, their leaders (the priests included) little better than buffoons. It is a burlesque ’98. It is well, however, to add the following estimate from the prefatory essay to the new edition of The Cabinet of Irish Literature: “A born critic here and there will find out that Mr. Frank Mathew’s Wood of the Brambles is as full of wit, wisdom, observation, and knowledge as genius can make it; but to the ordinary reader it is deliberately and offensively topsy-turvy, and there’s an end of it.”
⸺ THE SPANISH WINE. Pp. 180. (Lane). 3s. 6d. 1898.
A tale of Dunluce Castle, Co. Antrim, in the days when the MacDonnells from Scotland were Lords of Antrim, and Perrott was Elizabeth’s deputy. The story is told in form of reminiscence, the actual movement of the plot occupying only a few hours. Little attempt at description of scenes or times. The Author’s sympathies are with the MacDonnells, who were on the English side at the time. The book has been greatly admired, especially for the vividness of its historical atmosphere and its poetic and romantic glamour.
⸺ LOVE OF COMRADES. (Lane). 3s. 6d. 1900.
“Ultra romantic. The sprightly daughter of a Wicklow squire, bosom friend of Lord Strafford (then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland), goes on a perilous journey disguised as a gallant, with a message of life or death to Strafford at Dublin.”—(Baker, 2).
MATURIN, Charles Robert. 1782-1824. Born in Dublin, and educated at Trinity College. Was a clergyman of the Church of Ireland, and all his life the sworn enemy of Catholicism and of Presbyterianism, both of which, especially the latter, he treats unsparingly in some of his books. Besides his novels he wrote tragedies, such as “Bertram,” and bloodcurdling melodramas, such as “Fredolpho.” In his way of life he was somewhat of an oddity—the madness of genius, his admirers said—and this is reflected in his works. “His romances attracted Scott and Byron, and many critics have given them great though qualified praise. Bombastic extravagance of language, tangled plots, and impossible incidents characterize them all. A remarkable eloquence in descriptions of turbulent passion is his strong point.” Besides the novels mentioned below, he wrote Melmoth, the Wanderer, generally considered his masterpiece, and “The Albigenses, his last and best (1824), which was pronounced by Blackwood to be ‘four volumes of vigour, extravagance, absurdity, and splendour’” (compiled from Krans and Read). It should be noted that this writer sometimes violates good morals by indecency. Mr. N. Idman, of Lotsgotan, Helsingfors, Finland, is at present engaged on a study of M. which he intends to publish. The 1892 ed. of Melmoth contains an introductory memoir of M., a bibliography, and a criticism of each of his works.
⸺ THE WILD IRISH BOY. Three Vols. 12mo. (London). [1808]. 1814, 1839.
Republ. in “The Romancists’ and Novelists’ Library,” two vols. (Clements), 1839. The original ed. was anon.—by the Author of “Montorio” [i.e., “Dennis Jasper Murphy”]. Intended as an exposition of the unhappy condition of Ireland and as a picture of the life and manners of the time. The former is soon lost sight of, but the latter is well carried out. The hero is a strong Nationalist who works wholly for Ireland’s cause. Apart from this graver purpose, interest is sustained by a succession of exciting incidents and by good character drawing. There is little plot, a great deal of sentiment, and a great many disreputable intrigues, without, however, objectionable details. The scene varies between Dublin and the W. of Ireland—life in the family of a Protestant landowner and in that of a Catholic feudal chief. Period, c. 1806-8. The society depicted is that of the aristocratic classes. Author’s standpoint full of sympathy and even admiration for Ireland, strongly Protestant (Ch. of I.) and anti-“Roman.”