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'The History of an Enthusiast'

'The History of an Enthusiast' is the longest of the three short stories. Julia, the protagonist, is an orphan and lives with her grandmother, Mrs Carhampton. She has no brothers or sisters and is a very energetic child who often gets into mischief. She discovers a love for literature and is soon found to be a genius. She also has a great thirst for knowledge. Her grandmother, however, has a very negative attitude to literature and locks away all the books except the Bible. As Julia grows older she does manage to receive some education as she cultivated by the local Reverend Percy and his family. The Reverend's elder son is called Cecil is only a few years older than Julia. It looks initially as if the two will end up together as they are both so passionate about books and seem to get on very well. The narrator, however, soon makes it clear that this will never happen.

As a child, when asked what she would wish for in her future, Julia asks for 'Fame'. Her friend who is also asked the same question chooses to be a charming wife. Both girls achieve their goal however their happiness is far from equal. At the point at which Cecil leaves to go travelling for a few years we are shown extracts from Julia's diary and realise the she has fallen in love with him. But Julia realises too late that what she really wants is Cecil and that her true happiness would lie with him. But when she next sees him it is to say goodbye as he is going away to India with his wife. He later finds a drawing of himself done by Julia and the affection she has secretly held all these years is revealed. However they both know it is too late and after a poignant separation Julia decides to go travelling by herself.

'The History of a Nonchalant'

'The History of a Nonchalant', is a story about a son, Charles, who is expected to follow in his father's footsteps in the family business despite his disinclination for this kind of work. Charles passion is for learning and the arts.

A work colleague, Guise Stuart, becomes a friend to both the father and son but is less trustworthy than either of them thinks. Guise plays the father and son off against each other whilst reaping the benefits of becoming a partner in the business. He manages to persuade the father to send Charles away. Charles is sent to work in Italy and falls in love with the country. This section is very consiously influenced by DeStael's Corinne. Charles also falls completely in love there with a women who is half Italian and half Englis. He asks his father for permission to marry her, but makes the mistake of telling, Guise, his so-called friend the fact that he has already married her. The Father finds out and threatens to cut Charles out of his fortune if he does not come home.

Charles and his new wife find it difficult to live as they have little money and after a while Egeria becomes very ill, so ill that they travel to Britain. Once back in the country Charles appeals to his father for help but puts the letter in the same envelope as the one to Guise. Inevitably his father never received the letter. Egeria dies and Charles is heartbroken. His Father turns up the next day and discovers that Guise has been tricking them all this time. It becomes apparent that the father would have helped his son in any way possible, had he known. We are left with a very bitter ending; the father did not abandon his son but he found out too late to help him so he lost the love of his life.

'The History of a Realist'

'The History of a Realist'is a tale about family honour. The Winton's business has gone bankrupt and when the son,Richard, takes over he wants to clear his family's name before making his own fortune. He has a very good head for business and so manages to do this although it takes many years.

Richard is betroved to a gentle yet strong minded women named Sophia who understands that they cannot be married until the Winton name has been cleared. Richard is very honest and truly loves his Sophia. Indeed he stands by her family when they too find themselves in financial trouble, gambling his own reputation for their sake. Sophia's father runs a bank in which Richard has much of his fortune invested. When a bank clerk runs away with a considerable amount of money Richard decides, against his obvious interest, not to withdraw his money which would have menat the end for Sophia's father. Luckily the gamble pays off the thief is found and the money returned.

This is the only story in the trilogy, which has a happy ending; Richard marries Sophia and has a comfortable and happy life.

© 2002 Lyndsey Clarke / Sheffield Hallam University