THE DUCHESS OF WREXE

HER DECLINE AND DEATH – A ROMANTIC COMMENTARY

The Duchess of Wrexe, Her Decline and Death was first published in London by Martin Secker in 1914. Secker published the work of many famous and respected authors: Thomas Mann, D. H. Lawrence, Henry James and George Orwell. Walpole had established a firm friendship with Henry James after writing a letter of admiration to him in 1908. James responded kindly to the correspondence and the authors exchanged letters, before meeting in London for lunch at the start of 1909. They quickly developed a close friendship, as James became extremely fond of the young author and would write to him in affectionate terms, while Walpole considered the older and accomplished novelist to be a mentor. When James passed away in 1916, Walpole was working in the Anglo-Russian Propaganda Bureau in Petrograd and learned of his death via the newspapers, resulting in great personal distress.

Largely inspired by James’ works, The Duchess of Wrexe centres on the Beaminster clan, as they navigate their relationships during the late Victorian period. The family is ruled over by the terrifying and unyielding Duchess, who is wedded to a strong belief in ceremony, duty, custom and tradition and is strongly opposed to notions of change. She is unwillingly and unprepared to adapt to an altering world and has chosen to sequester herself in her home and dictate her demands to her family. The Duchess’ granddaughter fears and loathes her grandmother’s overbearing and autocratic nature; and so determines to enter into a marriage of convenience with a friend, Sir Roderick. The entangled relationships unfurl over the course of the book as Walpole portrays the fracturing and decaying of the authoritarian, rigid and undemocratic order that the Duchess so perfectly encapsulates.