Sarah Green

Mrs. Green. Gretna Green Marriages; or, The Nieces. A Novel. 3 vols.

London: A. K. Newman and Co., 1823

 

Synopsis of Gretna Green Marriages; or, The Nieces

 

The novel opens on a middle aged English couple discussing the impending marriage of their niece. Mr. Proser, a pompous, overbearing retired wax chandler has arranged for his seventeen year old niece Rosa to be wed to Sir Bernard Merriton, a man old enough to be her grandfather. Mrs. Proser is against the match, for she loves Rosa as her own daughter, and doesn't want her life to be bound to an "old coxcomb" as she put it. However, Mrs. Proser is a very submissive woman, so she bends to the will of her husband.

Rosa is the daughter of Mr. Proser's brother who died in the West Indies when Rosa was just a year and a half old. Mr. Proser brought his portion less niece, for she had no inheritance, home along with a young Negro to act as his footman. Pembroke, as he was called, felt a great attachment to Rosa and was one of her confidantes.
Rosa first became acquainted with Sir Merriton at a party hosted by Lady Harriet, a very rich and influential woman, who had taken Rosa under her wing. Sir Merriton had been determined to die a bachelor, but fell in love with Rosa's youthful good looks and offered to marry her without a dowry. This stipulation was especially favorable to Mr. Proser who had no intention of leaving his niece anything in his will, and had made this fact known to her many times.

Sir Merriton insisted that the wedding be kept secret until it had been performed. Therefore, Rosa felt she could not confess her situation to anyone that might offer help. She determined to run away. While counting her meager supply of money, she happened to drop a coin out the window. It was found and returned by a handsome young major, Augustus Montague. Rosa is immediately drawn to him, but she feels desperate to escape her approaching wedding and continues her preparations for leaving.

In the meantime, The Prosers have been invited to a party held by the town's banker, Mr. Aylesbury. There Rosa first meets their son Charles. The Aylesburys had long hoped the two would marry, not knowing that Mr. Proser will not provide a dowry for Rosa. They are delighted when Charles appears to take an interest in Rosa, although she feels nothing for him.

The wedding fast approaches and Rosa is prepared to leave her home for London, when Pembroke stops her, assuring her the wedding would not take place. The next day, a letter arrived from Sir Merriton who said he was calling off the wedding and leaving the country for a few weeks. Rosa felt a great relief and in the ensuing weeks began to spend time with Augustus. He too had no inheritance, as it had been squandered by his late father, Colonel Montague. He could have found a lucrative position in India, but his clinging mother could not bear to have him leave. Rosa was quite intrigued by Augustus, realizing that she had fallen in love with him. However, Charles Aylesbury had determined that he was in love with her. This suited Mr. Proser now that Sir Merriton had gone away, or so we thought.

Rosa soon was given a letter written by Sir Merriton asking her to meet him secretly, saying he loved her and had proposals for her uncle. Rosa was aghast at having to deal with this suitor again. She quickly packed a few belongings and set off for the home of Mrs. Spicer, a laundress she knew. She hoped Mrs. Spicer could offer her shelter and find her work. When the Prosers realized Rosa was missing, they went to several different homes around town looking for her. One place they looked was at the home of Mrs. Goldfinch. They didn't realize that Charles Aylesbury was attending a party she was throwing and heard about Rosa's disappearance. He also hears Mrs. Goldfinch say that Rosa had probably run off with Augustus Montague. Charles quickly took off in pursuit of her. When Sir Merriton learned she had run away he fell into a fit and lost the ability to speak. So ends volume 1.

As the second volume begins, Rosa is traveling to Mrs. Spicer's home. Mrs. Spicer takes Rosa in and soon finds her a job as a maid at the London home of one of her employers, a widow by the name of Mrs. Oddly. Mrs. Oddly ran a lodging residence out of her home. So imagine Rosa's surprise at finding Augustus Montague staying there. So surprised, in fact, that she faints. Augustus soon realizes who she is, for she had been wearing a disguise. He convinces her to return home, saying that her uncle has placed an advertisement in the newspaper saying they forgive her and will not torment her anymore (with talk of marring Sir Merriton we presume.) Before he can escort her, though, Augustus has to fight a duel with Charles Aylesbury. Augustus does not want to fight and only shoots Charles in the arm. Jealously he passes Rosa to Charles to accompany her home.

When Rosa returns, everyone is happy, but the whole town is saying she had a fling with Charles Aylesbury. He finds this a good reason for the two of them to be married, even though his parents now disapprove of the match. Rosa flatly refuses Charles' proposal. She is still in love with Augustus and has promised her love to him. His mother died so he took a position in India. He didn't feel right asking for Rosa to marry him when he didn't feel he could keep her in a manner to which she had been accustomed. They agreed to marry when he returned in three years.

The Prosers decided to take a trip to the country and rented the house of a couple planning to take a trip to France. They did not realize the couple was friends with Charles Aylesbury and he planned to go to France with them. While in the country, Rosa received a letter from Lady Harriet, who had been friends with Augustus' mother, saying that he had switched posts with another man, and was now in England again, She also discovered a letter to her uncle from Sir Merriton saying he was returning to England to claim Rosa. She again made the rash decision to run away. Only this time as she was leaving, she was kidnapped by the gardener that worked at the house her uncle was renting.

It is at this time the author goes off on a completely different story, giving us some background on Sir Merriton. In his youth he fell in love with a French girl. Her father was opposed to the match, so they married secretly. Unfortunately she died while giving birth to his daughter. He took the child to England and gave her to his sister, to act as her mother, and he as her uncle. He determined never to marry again, until he saw Rosa and she looked so much like his dead wife.
The story then comes back to Rosa with the gardener. As he is taking her away, he reveals that he is actually Charles Aylesbury. He had never left England as everyone thought and had been disguised as the gardener the whole time. He was determined to take Rosa to Gretna Green and force her to marry him. On the way, their coach has an accident and Charles is injured. Rosa used this as a way to escape. She hires a wagon driver to take her to London, and he promises not to reveal to anyone that he has a passenger. So ends volume two.

Volume three opens with the Aylesburys in France asking after the health of their son, as he has not written in a very long time. His friends tell them he is in England, but do not reveal that he had never been in France.

The author again takes off on an ill placed narrative to unveil a new character, Lady Sinclair, the young charming wife of Sir Malcolm Sinclair. We will not find out until later in the novel why she has been introduced to us

We are then brought back to the story of Rosa She has finally made it to London, although she was almost discovered by Charles Aylesbury once as he went flying by on a horse. She travels to the home of Mrs. Spicer again. Mrs. Spicer tells her that after she ran away again, Mr. Proser had her home searched for Rosa and that she had better lodge elsewhere, or be discovered. Mrs. Spicer finds her a place to stay, but before she has been there ten minutes, Augustus Montague walks through the door. He informs her that he has inherited a great sum form a relative and can take of her now. They run off to Gretna Green and are married.

The story then shifts to a party held by Mrs. Goldfinch. Lady Sinclair is in attendance. Someone tells the party how Charles Aylesbury kidnapped Rosa and lost her, and that now he is with his parents in Brighton trying to forget her. This is the first time Mrs. Sinclair has heard out Rosa. When she learns that she is the niece of Mr. Proser and she had been born in the West Indies, she goes into a fit. She reveals to the whole party that Mr. Proser is her uncle, and she is Rosa. She has no idea who the girl they are passing off as their niece is. Lady Sinclair soon recovers and goes to visit Mrs. Aylesbury. Here she meets Charles for the first time. They are both attracted to each other instantly.

During this time, the Prosers have returned to town, and secluded themselves in their town house with Sir Merriton. They still have no idea where Rosa is, and Lady Sinclair will not leave them alone. Rosa returns to town and instantly goes to the Prosers' home to let them know about her marriage. Here she encounters Sir Merriton who reveals to her that she is actually his granddaughter, Rosalie Beverly. The child he left with his sister had been school friends with Mrs. Proser. She eloped with a military officer named Beverly, and Sir Merriton never forgave her. His daughter and her husband moved to the West Indies. The climate did not agree with her husband and he soon died. She was ready to follow after him when Mr. Proser's brother died and he went to the West Indies to settle his affairs. He met Mrs. Beverly and she begged him to take her daughter. He agreed, but after she died, he ransacked her house and burned her will so her daughter would not know of her inheritance. He dismissed her nurse, who then dressed up like a man to get hired by Mr. Proser. This was Pembroke. Mr. Proser's real niece had been taken in by her rich grandmother, so he told everyone that Rosalie was his niece. When Pembroke realized that Sir Merriton unknowingly planned to marry Rosalie, she went to him and revealed the truth. The two letters that caused Rosalie to run away were just Sir Merriton's way of saying he wanted to talk to her and tell her the truth. After all was revealed, Mr. Proser agreed to give Rosalie back her money and possessions.

As Augustus and Rosalie had married under a false name and without Sir Merriton's permission, their marriage wasn't legal. Sir Merriton isn't going to allow them to marry until he sees how much they really love each other, so he holds a small wedding for them. Lady Sinclair is caught having an affair with Charles Aylesbury, so her husband leaves her and sues Charles. Soon after, Mr. Proser, who never really recovered from the embarrassment of having been caught stealing from a dead woman and her 18 month old daughter, dies. His wife soon follows him and their estate is left to the former Lady Sinclair. Now she and Charles can live comfortably and they are married. Everyone is happy.

- Prepared by Jamie Mraz, University of Nebraska, December 2002