1874 was a significant year for Richard Jefferies. On the 16th July, just over a week after his marriage to Jessie Baden, his first published novel, The Scarlet Shawl, appeared. This was published by Tinsley Bros., London. Tinsley were also the publishers of the early novels of Thomas Hardy and Anthony Trollope and several best-selling authors of the time. The Scarlet Shawl was the first of three novels by Jefferies published by Tinsley.
However Tinsley were only prepared to publish The Scarlet Shawl if Jefferies paid for the cost, £60. This was a significant amount, especially for someone who may not have had much money at the time. It is thought his Aunt Ellen may have covered some or all the cost. However perhaps Jefferies was not as poorly off as thought, as he had just married and the following spring he moved from Coate Farmhouse to live in Swindon. Also by then Jessie was pregnant.
The Richard Jefferies Society, through Petton Books, republished the novel, a scan from the 1874 publication. This edition summarises the book as follows:
Scarlet Shawl was his début, a light, amusing comedy of manners. The heroine Nora quarrels with her suitor Percival, a conceited young man whose head is turned by the flattery of a cocotte, while Nora becomes engaged to a man she does not truly love. There is humour in the portrayal of the lecherous old beau Gerard Wootton, who schemes to seduce Nora but fears rejection should she discover him sans wig and rouge.
The novel gathers strength once Jefferies throws off the awkward self-consciousness that mars the early chapters, and his personality comes to the fore. There are several passages of power and beauty that anticipate the mature writer, including a luxuriant chapter on the fascination of the colour scarlet; a rhapsodic evocation of the dawn over London Bridge; and an intensely dramatic account of Nora’s gradual subjection to the icily immaculate Sir Theodore.
In the introduction, Andrew Rossabi provides extensive details on the background to its publication, and its reception at the time and since. Many have dismissed these early novels, but Andrew discusses how the book is an important stage in Jefferies development and he finds images and passages in the novel which hint at the writer Jefferies was to become.
Copies of the book are available to order from the Society’s web site, https://www.richardjefferiessociety.org/p/publications.html .
Also, the Society will be discussing The Scarlet Shawl at its Zoom meeting on Monday 13th January 2025 starting at 7.30 pm. All are invited to join this meeting. You don’t have to be a member, and if you prefer you can just listen to what others have to say. More details will be made available nearer the time.
