Cousin Phillis (1864) is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. It was published in four parts, though a fifth and sixth part were planned.[1] The story is about 19-year-old Paul Manning,^ who moves to the country and befriends his mother's family and his (second) cousin Phillis Holman, who is confused by her own placement at the edge of adolescence.[2]
Most critics agree that Cousin Phillis is Gaskell's crowning achievement in the short novel.[3] The story is uncomplicated;[1] its virtues are in the manner of its development and telling. Cousin Phillis is also recognized as a fitting prelude for Gaskell's final and most widely acclaimed novel, Wives and Daughters, which ran in Cornhill Magazine from August 1864 to January 1866.
Characters
- Paul Manning (the narrator, Phillis's cousin)
- Mr Manning (Paul's father)
- Mr Edward Holdsworth
- Mr Holman (independent church minister)
- Mrs Holman
- Miss Phillis Holman
- Mr Ellison (Mr Manning's business partner)
- Miss Lucille Ventadur (at last Mr Holdsworth's wife)
- Betty (the servant at Holman house)
References
- ^ a b Aiko, Watanabe (2008-02-28). "The Use of Pastoral and the Problem of Change in Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South and Cousin Phillis". 早稲田大学大学院文学研究科紀要 第2分冊 英文学 フランス語フランス文学 ドイツ語ドイツ文学 ロシア語ロシア文化 中国語中国文学. 53. ISSN 1341-7525.
- ^ Rogers, Philip (1995-06-01). "The Education of Cousin Phillis". Nineteen Cent Lit. 50 (1): 27–50. doi:10.2307/2933872. ISSN 0891-9356. JSTOR 2933872.
- ^ Shattock, Joanne, ed. (2010). "The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1830-1914". Cambridge Core. doi:10.1017/CCOL9780521882880. ISBN 9780521882880.
Notes
- ^^ Paul is seventeen at the beginning of the story, but he turns nineteen before meeting his cousin Phillis.
External links
- Cousin Phillis at Project Gutenberg
Cousin Phillis public domain audiobook at LibriVox
