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Art. 53. - Ariel; or the Invisible Monitor. In Four Volumes. 12mo. 18s. sewed. Lane. 1801.
There is a peculiar cast of character assigned to one of the personages in this novel, which, although extravagant, will gain it the favour of the fair, and which is indeed a much more pleasant piece of machinery than ghosts and goblins - the attendance of the chevalier St Alvars upon Rosaline in the guise of an aërial spirit. Notwithstanding that this circumstance is a little too fanciful, we cannot refuse our approbation to the work in general. The incidents are such as to interest the reader continually; and the fortitude of the heroine is dignified and constant. We are sorry, however, to see that Sir Walter's conduct did not rise equally high with her own; for Adolphus's head might have been turned by anxiety, and Rosaline's heart broken by grief, had not the baronet's folly been gratified by her proving in the end a sprig of nobility. [complete]
Provided by Julie A. Shaffer, November 1999
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