Occasionally I'll take a break from writing and do some surfing. The other day I stumbled upon a site that includes some interesting information about female Victorian authors. I've never heard of Rhoda Brougham, but two paragraphs from the website made me laugh.
Although often referred to as a sensation novelist, her work is notable for being slightly risque, rather than sensational. Anthony Trollope commented in his Autobiography that 'she has made her ladies do and say things which ladies would not do and say.''
Anthony, of course, being the final authority on what Victorian ladies said and did.
In later life....she established herself as something of a society wit. Oscar Wilde is said to have felt intimidated by her, and she apparently had a voice that could be heard from the other side of Harrod's Food Hall.
Intimidate Oscar Wilde? One of the wittiest men who ever lived? Wow.
You can read the entire article here.
I've read her ghost stories. The wit is definitely present. I don't recall anything risque. I'll have to re-read them later this month.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at the number of obscure writers you have read although I should know by now that if anyone has, it's you.
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