Gentry Life in Georgian Ireland: The Letters of Edmund Spencer (1711-1790) ed. by Duncan Fraser, Andrew Hadfield

Abstract

 Reviews develops insights gained in the first part to focus upon the English book trade, speci fically reprints of older texts, texts translated into English from other vernacular languages, and fiction that was published for a purpose or for entertainment. ese terms, as Orr acknowledges, pose their own conceptual difficulties, and I would have liked to see a more theorized approach to both questions of genre and the differences between ‘fiction for purpose’ and ‘fiction for entertainment’. Nevertheless, this is an ambitious book that adds to the expanding wealth of scholarship on the book trade that systematically dismantles ‘the rise of the novel’ narratives of fiction production. L J M U R W Gentry Life in Georgian Ireland: e Letters of Edmund Spencer (–). Ed. by D F and A H. Cambridge: Legenda. . xiv+  pp. £. ISBN ––––. Property, or the lack thereof, seems to have defined those who aspired to be considered ‘gentry’ in Georgian Ireland, where Catholics made up % of the population but owned only % of the land. Suggestively, it is not entirely clear from these letters if Edmund Spencer belongs to the Protestant ascendancy or is in fact a Catholic, or whether he diplomatically equivocates. Most of Spencer’s letters were written to Francis Price, a gentleman of considerable property and business interests, who was born in Ireland but was living in Overton, near Wrexham, Wales. At some point, Spencer seems to have become Price’s agent, overseeing his property in Ireland. Aer Price’s death, the correspondence continues with his widow Alice and their son, Richard, for whom Spencer continued to act as an agent. is edition of Spencer’s letters is illustrated with historical maps, an index which identifies the people mentioned in the correspondence, the places mentioned, and the places given as addresses of origin. Careful and illuminating attention is paid to how these letters were transmitted, including the franking system and the cost of posting letters. We learn, for example, that postage was paid by the recipient. An extremely useful introduction comments on the family relationships of the correspondents and gentry life in Ireland. It is noteworthy that Spencer, though living for the most part in rural areas of Georgian Ireland, is aware of events going on in the British Empire. For example, he writes his observations about the War of Jenkins’ Ear (–), a conflict between Britain and Spain over trading rights in the Caribbean, as well as giving details of marriages, illnesses, and other events of local interest. As an edition of correspondence, this work by Duncan Fraser and Andrew Had- field is a model of how an edition should be put together. In addition to discussing the use of Old and New Style calendars and describing the archive, they supply a chronological chart of the archive listing dates, folio numbers, addressees, and places of origin. e commentary on transcription skilfully analyses the trade-off between reading the original manuscript and a transcription which ‘pares away MLR, .,   the obfuscating aspects of unfamiliar handwriting, outdated orthographical conventions , and the deleterious effects of time on paper’ (p. ). e discussion of the idiosyncrasies of Spencer’s punctuation is instructive about eighteenth-century attitudes generally and especially noteworthy in its suggestion that dashes may be used as paragraph markers to save the cost of paper. Meanwhile, in their new printed form the letters are presented in a handsomely produced volume by Legenda , an imprint of the Modern Humanities Research Association. In terms of copy-editing, it is rare to see such an excellently prepared academic book. In a letter written on  August , Spencer tells Price that his friends have suggested that if he could be made known to the Duke of Marlborough, ‘his Grace would certainly procure some Employment for me either civil or military, on Account of my Family, and in consideration of my being descended from the famous Poet of his Name’ (p. ). e reference is to Charles Spencer, rd Duke of Marlborough, and the comment is interesting because of its self-effacement. Spencer avoids presuming to claim kinship on the grounds of a common surname and counters any suggestion of presumption by alluding to his great-great-grandfather, ‘the...