Authorship in Female Disguise: Love in Distress; or, The Lucky Discovery. A Novel Written by the Honourable Lady * * *

Abstract

:Love in Distress; or, The Lucky Discovery (1697) is fundamentally concerned with the effects of concealment and revelation. Even though it was published with no authorial attribution, the reader was told that it had been written "By the honourable Lady * * *," thus creating tension between anonymity and disguised female authorship. The sense of concealment created by the use of pseudonyms, initials and references in the prefatory material is echoed by the facts that three of the female characters in the story cross-dress, thus hiding their identity, and that some male characters also use various kinds of disguises. In addition to this, the story is plotted through a series of well-kept secrets that are eventually revealed to create a happy and lucky ending. The tightly built plot, some elements of which are taken from the stage, and the psychological insight it offers into the feelings of some of the characters make this novel a representative and singularly interesting exemplum of the genre in the late seventeenth century.