George W. M. Reynolds In France

George W.M. Reynolds In France by R.E. Prindle I think that too little attention has been paid to Reynolds sojourn in France and its influence on his intellectual development. His future was essentially formed there. He was transformed into an Anglo-French person heavily influencing his writing style. He was a malleable sixteen year old at the time fresh out of military school. In his first novel written after two years residence in France at the age of eighteen, he says he was educated at the Sandhurst military academy. He was there for a mere three years from thirteen to sixteen so it must have been a solid period of learning. Of course in that novel, ‘The Youthful Imposter’ he shows off his knowledge repeatedly either quoting, to me now, obscure authors or referring to them. In that same two years that he wrote his novel he met and married his wife, Susannah Pierson. The marriage was apparently one of those perfect marriages producing several children and dozens of novels, some written by Susannah on her own. He apparently met her father first as his tutor as a Man of the World, who was a man named Pearson as recorded in his ‘The Youthful Impostor. Unless I’m mistaken Reynolds based his character, the Gendarme Dumont of Pickwick abroad on his father-in-law. The five years of his sojourn covered the most impressionable years from sixteen to twenty-one, and they were spent productively. While there he was intimately involved in the literary scene. As evidence, in 1839 he published his review of the literary scene titled. The Modern Literature of France involving reviews of eighteen different authors and dozens of book. Along with the rest of his life this must have been a prodigious workload, and that couldn’t have been his entire workload. He was apparently familiar enough with the scene so that when returning to England in 1836 he was immediately appointed the editor of the oldline Monthly Review at the age of only twenty-one. And he made a success of his appointment. He wasn’t exactly off and running but was building a solid resume as he immediately began writing novels also. His reason for returning to England was that he was swindled of money in a literary scam. He told Susannah that he would have to return to England to establish a literary career which he couldn’t do in France as he only spoke French but wasn’t familiar enough in it to write. It appears that Susannah considered herself French but she readily agreed to leave and follow her husband. Their bodies were in England but their hearts were in France. Thus the couple participated in both the English and French literary scenes. In which they, indeed played a prominent role being the most popular novelist of the period in England, while doing very well in the United States as well as on the continent. He was instrumental in introducing current French literature to the English reader. Back in England in 1939 he wrote his introduction to the modern literature of France under that title. He was still only twenty-five. Two of the writers who influenced him most had not yet broken through. They were Alexandre Dumas and Eugene Sue. Dumas is still widely read today and deservedly so while Sue is somewhat neglected, undeservedly. Both were very prolific. The two would write novels that would nearly form the basis of Reynolds corpus. Although Reynolds had made several fictional attempts since his return they were not well received; then, Eugene Sue broke through with his sensational ‘Mysteries of Paris’. The work was so sensational in France that George Stiff, a publisher, approached Reynolds, perhaps because of his French background, as well as his appropriation of Dickens sensational ’Pickwick Papers’, to write a companion novel, ‘The Mysteries of London.’ Reynolds accepted and hit the groove so accurately that the novel, published serially over four years was equally sensational in England and possibly successful in France also. Following the ‘Mysteries of Paris’ almost in a burst of creativity, Sue published his equally sensational work, ‘The Wandering Jew’. His book has nothing to do has nothing to do with the Wandering Jew or Jews. The reference is merely a framing device. Perhaps the legend of ‘The Wandering Jew’ was in vogue so Sue was trying to cash in on it. ‘Mysteries of London’ would be a sensational title. As both the Mysteries of Paris and the Wandering Jew were issued before ‘The Mysteries of London’ ‘The Wandering Jew’ was as influential as the ‘Mysteries of Paris’. Reynolds would continue to follow Sue so that the later biographical novels of Sue were also reflected in Reynolds following biographical novels. A surprising influence from his French days was Alexandre Dumas. I think that influence has slipped through commentary until now. In 1839-40 Dumas abandoned his theatrical career to begin that as a novelist. His first effort was the collection known as ‘Celebrated Crimes’ in eight volumes. While the crimes are based on actual events very closely yet Dumas tells very good stories, but the crimes well known on their own, Dumas is pretty much historical fiction They range over French history from about the year 1300 to Dumas’ present with the story of Ali Pasha. A collection of eighteen tales almost resembling paintings. The collection is overwhelming, even today. The accounts are so penetrating, so acute, so psychologically developed as to be a work of genius. Looking at Reynolds in this light the influence penetrates several novels over the two decades of Reynolds activity as a novelist. My attention was first drawn to ‘The Crimes of Lady Saxondale’. The title is a direct giveaway. At the time Reynolds read ‘Crimes’, as I suppose, as issued, he was deeply involved in the Temperance Society that he saw as an economic opportunity. Indeed, having achieved a substantial success with his Pickwick Abroad of 1839 which some say old one for one against the Dickens original he had money to spare. Unfortunately for him the Temperance Society rejected monetization so that Reynolds found himself in bankruptcy court in 1840. Thus Reynolds was in straitened circumstances until Stiff tapped him to write the ‘Mysteries of London’ beginning in 1844. The reading of the set must have hit Reynolds with irresistible force, burning into his memory but overwhelming to the point of leaving him breathless, virtually paralyzed. Finally the spell was broken when Stiff commissioned him to write the ‘Mysteries of London.’ Looking at ‘Mysteries’ through new eyes having just discovered ‘Celebrated Crimes’ myself, influences are readily apparent. Looked at in this light ‘Mysteries’ too is a collection of crimes arranged sequentially and held together more or less by the presence of the Resurrection Man, Anthony Tidkins. An equally forceful effect was also produced when George read the two works of the Marquis De Sade ‘Justine’ and ‘Juliette.’ Those two works celebrated the triumph of vice over virtue. George was offended by the idea so ‘Mysterie;s’ is also intended as a refutation of De Sade. ‘Mysteries’ is centered around the twin figures of Richard and Eugene Markham. Richard takes the role of Justine, or Virtue while Eugene steps into Juliette’s shoes. By the end of the book Richard triumphs becoming a benign monarch in an area close to Naples called Castelcicala that he converts from Vice to Virtue. Vice to Virtue is a major theme of Reynolds. George then followed up in 1845 and 46 with Faust and Wagner the Wehr Wolf which leans heavily on the Dumas influence; in 1847 he wrote ‘The Coral Island’, titled ‘Mysteries of Naples’ in the US; that is unabashedly influenced by Dumas. ‘The Bronze Statue or the Virgin’s Kiss’ of 1848 rounds out the direct Dumas phase. There are probably other Dumas references but I would have to reread the corpus with Dumas in mind. Let me say that of this terrific explosion of the literary 30s, 40s and 50s Reynolds was a significant part. One might call it the Big Four, Dumas, Sue, Reynolds and Hugo. They read each other; one could say that they almost competed. I had better stop here and curb my enthusiasm before I go too far. This literary period is a deep well