False Domesticity: Hidden Secrets in Maria Edgeworth's "Harry and Lucy Concluded"
Abstract
This thesis provides information concerning the recent discovery of a signed,
first-edition copy of Maria Edgeworth‘s Harry and Lucy Concluded. In order to address
the historical, literary, and societal implications of the find, the thesis investigates the
identity of the novel‘s original owner in connection with Edgeworth‘s political beliefs
and cognitive writing strategies. As an eccentric inventor and member of the British
parliament, the original owner of the text also gains additional significance as the
inspiration for characters in Edgeworth‘s Harry and Lucy Concluded and Charles
Dickens‘s David Copperfield.
Subject
Maria EdgeworthWomen and Politics
Children's Literature
Charles Dickens
Benjamin Rotch
Eliza Farrar
Cognitive Theory
Rachel Mordecai Lazarus
Politics
19th Century
18th Century
Domesticity
Parliament
Harry and Lucy Concluded
Marginalia
Citation
Chavarria, Hannah Gabrielle (2019). False Domesticity: Hidden Secrets in Maria Edgeworth's "Harry and Lucy Concluded". Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /186533.