The Poetics of 1814: Representations of Norway, Norwegian Politics and Norwegian Culture in The Recluse of Norway by Anna Maria Porter

Abstract

Few British writers visited and/ or wrote literary texts about Norway in the nineteenth century. What then attracted the attention of those who did write about this 'exotic' Nordic country? Was it its landscape, its traditions or its complex political situation? Taking as my starting point C. B. Burchardt's _Norwegian Life and Literature_ (1920), an early account on the representation of Norwegians in British literature, this article addresses these questions focusing primarily on the novel _The Recluse of Norway_ written by Anna Maria Porter (1780-1832) and published for the first time in 1814. Despite being set at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the novel's historical references inform and are informed by the historical events of 1814, which resulted in the Norwegian Constitution and in the cession of Norway to Sweden. More generally, this novel casts light on British representations of Norway at the beginning of the century.