Evan Harrington

Evan Harrington is an 1861 novel by George Meredith, a glowing comedy of Victorian presumptions.

First edition title page

Setting and plot

The second of Meredith's 'mainstream' novels, the work is loosely autobiographical in inspiration;^[1] and concerns the social climbing family (three married daughters; one unmarried son) of the recently deceased tailor, Melchisedec (The Great Mel) Harrington.^[2]

Characters

Two of Meredith's most notable comic creations - The Great Mel and his daughter Louisa, the scheming Countess of Saldar - appear in the book.^[3] Among lesser comic figures are Jack Raikes and Mr Parsley.^[4]

The love interest of the hero, Evan - who is urged up the social ladder by his three sisters - is Rose Jocelyn:^[5] she was taken as the epitome of mid-Victorian womanhood by the scholar Henry Sidgwick.^[6]

See also

• Lady Anna