The Corvey Novels Project at the University of Nebraska
Studies in British Literature of the Romantic Period
Mary Meeke
"Gabrielli." Independence: a Novel. 4 vols.
London: Lane and Newman, 1802.
Synopsis of Independence
This Gothic novel is full of deception and identity confusion. It is based
on the life of Egbert Irwan, the son of a British Marquis, who knows nothing
of his status as a Lord until adulthood. The setting of the novel changes
often, with significant action taking place in Germany, France, Luxembourg,
Belgium, and England.
The first of the four volumes provides background information on the most
significant female character, Phillipa de Woldemar. Her father left her
to be raised by her uncle, the Baron de Rhinfelt of Luxembourg, after her
mother died. The Baron is an extremely wealthy and esteemed ex-soldier.
Earlier in his life he had been married for a short time before his wife
died. The only product of the brief marriage was one daughter, Clare. Clare
is jealous of Phillipa's beauty. The Baron moves Phillipa to a castle in
Germany so she will not be in the way of his less beautiful daughter, Clare,
when it comes to getting married. He orders that Phillipa discover she is
richer than Clare. Her uncle plans to secretly transfer her fortune to Clare.
He thinks his niece is unaware of her fortune and plans to marry her off
to a man of inferior rank. Egbert Irwan, an expert horseman, actor and musician
comes to perform in Luxembourg. Here the story backtracks in order to explain
the origin of Irwan to the reader.
Egbert Irwan was raised at a school for orphans in France. His mother asks
that he be raised to be a Catholic clergyman. Egbert is an excellent scholar
and excels at the school. Because he challenges the authority of the principal
often, he is finally put in a cell at the school. He escapes one night to
watch a performance of the famous Balp Company. Irwan yearns to perform
with the company. He secretly begs Balp to train him. Because Balp sees
potential in the eager boy, he agrees. Egbert secretly leaves the school
to travel with Balp's company. The school is baffled by his disappearance.
He becomes an expert equestrian and performer. Now the reader is taken back
to the point where Irwan is performing near the residence of the Baron de
Rhinfelt in the Netherlands.
The Baron is enraged when Clare begins to like the vagabond stroller but
he also sees Irwan as a possible way to increase his daughter's rank. He
plots to get him to marry Phillipa. The Baron and his mistress, Mrs. Wallis,
try to convince Egbert to marry the gorgeous Phillipa. They lie to him,
saying she is the Baron's daughter. Irwan becomes suspicious when the Baron
advises him to take on a low title of nobility because if Phillipa loves
him as he is, he should not need to act of a higher rank. When the Governor
of the city learns of the scheme, he tells Egbert to do as the Baron says
in order to catch him red-handed. Egnert and Phillipa are married and the
Baron rejoices. He thinks he now owns his niece's property. He does not
know that Egbert has talked to the Governor and that the marriage is not
official. The Governor tells the Baron he will not go public with the crime
of which he suspects the Baron if the dowry of Phillipa may be written over
to him. The Baron agrees to save his reputation. Mrs. Wallis is still determined
to get back at Irwan for ruining the Baron's reputation, since news of his
crime has leaked out. She develops a plan and visits a friend and corrupt
politician, Mr. Emeri, in England. Egbert is tricked as he teaches a new
pupil equestrian skills: this new pupil is actually Clare in disguise. She
gets Egbert to go with her to the residence of Emeri, where he is thrown
into a cell. Frustrated for falling for the scheme, Egbert manages to escape
and deliberately acts as a ghost to scare Clare and Mrs. Wallis to get his
revenge for their duplicity. They are scared, their carriage wrecks, and
Mrs. Wallis is injured. Clare returns to mainland Europe alone as Mrs. Wallis
is too injured to travel. Mrs. Wallis learns that Egbert is still alive
and after talking with him, she gains his forgiveness. As Mrs. Wallis nears
death, she requests to talk with the Principal of a school at which she
had left her son. The Principal travels to meet with her. She tells him
she was the woman who left her son at the school and that she wants him
to notify her son of a secret inheritance. Wallis is shocked when the Principal
tells her that her son is Egbert Irwan. She cannot believe she almost murdered
her son. She tells the Principal of her life at the beginning of Volume
Three.
Mrs. Wallis, we learn, was born into a wealthy family in England. Various
unfortunate circumstances plunged the family into poverty. She married a
nobleman from her neighborhood, Lord Ernest Cornwall. She did not love this
future Marquis of Daventry but was forced to marry him anyway. While she
was a young woman at the time, Cornwall was 56 years old and a tyrant. She
and Cornwall had a child, Egbert. Lord Cornwall divorced her, however, because
she had been complaining about his oppressive nature to the man she truly
loved. Mrs. Wallis subsequently converted to Catholicism and later traveled
to the home of her ex-husband in order to get her son back. Late one night
she learned that her ex-husband was gone from home. She sneaked in and took
away her child. The child was then left at the school where he was raised,
in Douai, France. Mrs. Wallis left her son at the school because she thought
having him educated to be a clergyman would make her peace with heaven.
To spite the child's Presbyterian father, she further requested that her
son be raised as a Catholic.
After concluding her life story, Wallis tells the school Principal to inform
the Marquis that his son is still alive. She dies soon thereafter. The Principal
travels to England and tells the Marquis of his son's existence. The Marquis
is appalled to learn that his son is a common stroller. He decides to send
his chaplain, Mildmay, with the Principal to bring his son to him. His plan
is for his son to forget his present occupation and take on his title as
Lord Aberdore. The Principal and Mildmay proceed to meet Egbert, and the
Principal tells his former pupil of his mother's death and that his father
is alive and wishes to meet him. Mildmay tells Egbert of his noble birth
and real name, Ernest Cornwall. Irwan is shocked after believing himself
a commoner his entire life. He desires to meet his father and leaves Balp's
Company. As Mildmay and Egbert travel by ship to England, the captain of
their ship turns out to be a smuggler. In any case, they reach England safely.
At the estate of the Marquis, preparations are occurring for his son's arrival.
Egbert's cousin, Augustus, is informed that he is no longer heir to the
Marquis. He is disgusted. Egbert's uncle, Sir Charles Otley, lives close
to the Marquis and enters the novel now. Since Egbert arrives via horse,
the Marquis is shocked and mistakes his son for a servant. Egbert settles
in. He is hurt but agrees to obey his father's order to never talk of his
past life, for this would disgrace the family name. Egbert starts to regret
taking on his title and is bored with his idle life. He enjoys the company
of his less superficial Uncle Charles more than that of his father. He meets
a wealthy Indian family, the Fanshaws, one day. Egbert is angered when he
learns that Mrs. Fanshaw has failed to hold up her end of a bargain with
a poor man from town. After giving money to his poor friend, Egbert devises
a plan of revenge. Because he knows about Mrs. Fanshaw's love for exotic
animals, he captures two sparrows and a starling and paints them bright
colors. He also knows of a rare dog of Mrs. Cornwall which recently died.
He has it unearthed and skinned. With a needle and thread, he puts the coat
on a mutt puppy. Egbert's poor friend swindles Mrs. Fanshaw into buying
these specimens which he says are from the Sandwich Islands. She gets a
dose of her own medicine when a vet discovers the scam.
To the dismay of his father, Egbert begins participating in fox hunting.
Augustus always accompanies Egbert and reports his actions to the Marquis.
This is so that the Marquis can make sure his son is behaving properly in
mixed society. Egbert challenges a fellow hunter to a backwards horse race
and wins easily. The Marquis learns of his son's racing and threatens to
disown him if he acts this way again. In response, Egbert says he will obey
his own free will. Both are furious as Egbert says he no longer wants his
title. The Marquis disowns his son and reveals to him the secret that Wallis,
the very lady trying to kill him, was his mother. Egbert is horrified. His
uncle informs him of his mother's having been forced to marry the Marquis.
Egbert plans to return to Balp's Company. His Uncle Charles dies, and Egbert
leaves England abruptly.
The Marquis is troubled by his son's departure. He plans to take a vacation
to continental Europe. His actual motive is to find his son. His trip begins.
He constantly hears of his famous son's performances. Augustus is suspicious
that his uncle is trying to reclaim his son, which angers him, since he
is the current heir. Augustus attends one of his cousin's performances and
drops a cloak on the stage in an attempt to kill Egbert. His attempt fails.
The company of the Marquis is traveling across Belgium when the horses are
scared and the carriages run off the road. A stranger comes out of nowhere
and mounts the horses to get them to stop. The Marquis realizes the stranger
that saved their lives was his son. The Marquis now feels that he is obligated
to reinstate his son's title if his son apologizes. At the site where they
are staying, Phillipa and her governess happen to be staying as well. Augustus
becomes smitten with Phillipa. Madame Dauberval, Phillipa's governess, is
worried about her charge's future and is trying to get Phillipa married
off before she becomes an old maid. Augustus does not know of Phillipa's
previous marriage to Egbert. They marry. Phillipa does not love him but
approves of his high rank. The Marquis exposes to Augustus the fact that
Phillipa has already been married before. Before Augustus can show his dismay
at his bride's dishonesty, the Marquis tells Phillipa that Augustus is not
even to be his heir. She is as livid, and they both suffer from their deception.
In the last section of the novel, the traveling group of the Marquis comes
across a young boy in a park whom they take back to his home. He turns out
to be the grandson of the Marquis. Egbert and his father come face to face.
The Marquis expresses regret for his past prideful actions. He is forgiven
by his son. The Marquis learns of Egbert's marriage to Leopoldina de Sultzbach,
the daughter of the governor of Baron Rhinfelt's region. Egbert and Leopoldina
had been engaged after he saved her from a dancing bear that got free and
attacked her. Egbert eventually agrees to move his family to England and
reclaim his title as Lord Aberdore.
-Prepared by Stephen P. Sizemore, University of Nebraska, December 2002