[Advertisements in the Morning Chronicle newspaper on Tuesday 25th and Monday 31st October, 1808, refer to The Woman of Colow under books published this day”; however, as indicated below, reviews do not start appearing until 1810.]
1. The British Critic (March 1810): 299
The writer tells us in his title page, that he is the author also of “Light and Shade,” “The Aunt and Niece,” “Edersfield Abbey,” &c. &c. What can be the fate of all these books? How soon must they return from whence they came, filthy rags? Yet it must be confessed that this Woman of Colour is by no means illiterate or without ingenuity of contrivance; the moral also is excellent. It is, that there is no situation in which the mind may not resist misfortune by proper resignation to the will of heaven. It is very hard after all, that the poor heroine does not get a husband, for she is made very much to deserve one.
2. The Critical Review (May 1810): 108-09
The author of this work tells us, that the moral he would deduce from the story of the Woman of Colour is ‘that there is no situation, in which the mind, which is strongly imbued with the truths of our most holy faith , and the consciousness of a divine Disposer of events may not resist itself against misfortune, and become resigned to its fate.’ All this may be very true but we have our doubts of the morality of this tale. We do not see what good is to accrue from reading a story, in which an amiable female is despoiled of her name and station in society, through the machinations of a rejected and jealous woman, and three worthy characters made wretched for no one reason in the world. Olivia Fairfield, the Woman of Colour, comes over to England with a fine fortune to marry her cousin, by the desire of her late father; if she does not do this, her fortune is forfeited. This cousin is represented as amiable and handsome. They are united; and the good and superior qualities of Olivia engage the esteem of her husband in spite of her colour. She is happy in possessing this esteem and displays much good sense and feeling. It however turns out that
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her husband had two years before clandestinely married a beautiful girl, who was dependant on his brother’s wife; and as this wife wished to have married Augustus Merton, instead of the brother, she determined to wreck her vengeance on her rival. She accordingly makes her believe, that she was seduced by a false marriage; and, in the absence of her husband, sends her into a remote country, and on his return propagates a report of her death which is believed, and he afterwards marries his cousin of colour. She then removes the former wife and contrives to throw her in the way of her husband; her re-appearance makes all the confusion that can be wished; and of course the Woman of Colour’s marriage is null and void. The author has endeavoured to throw into the character of Olivia, a wonderful quantity of magnanimity, fortitude, and religion, and has, in some measure, succeeded. But Olivia is rather too methodistical; providence is for ever in her mouth; she indulges a little too liberal in her use of the Most High, and plumes herself too much on her religious duties, and her quotations from Scripture. The character of her black servant Dido, is the most natural of any. Mrs. George Merton evinces a malignity, which we trust is unnatural; and the East Indian Nabobs family present nothing new.
3. The Monthly Review (June 1810): 212
On our first perusal of this tale, we wished for a greater display of retributive justice in the events, until the fair author reminded us that the best rewards of virtue and the severest penalties of vice are not dependent on external circumstances.—She is too apt to ‘express the jests’ in italics, though some of them perhaps would never be ‘smoked’ without that illustration: but her style is easy and unaffected, and her story is interesting; while the useful aim and good principles of the novel are deserving of commendation.
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APPENDIX F