Altogether this half dozen men produced nearly two dozen items of the romantico-satiric order, none of which could be called novels in the strict sense, yet all of which are worthy of being included in this list, because of the light they throw on the characteristics of the romantic method in satire. The largest amount, both actually and relatively, is supplied by Peacock, for his seven tales represent the bulk of his own output. The smallest is Lytton's, represented by only one, and that an aftermath of a prolific and versatile energy. Disraeli threw off three skits, like Thackeray's half dozen and Meredith's two, in being preliminary to later and more substantial work. Butler's two, on the contrary, though forming only a fraction of his stops of various quills, are the most inevitably associated with his name, the pair indeed whereby his name is known.
The list covers a period of eighty-five years, though it is prolonged over a half century only by the interval of thirty years between Erewhon and its sequel. The rest are fairly compact, except for Peacock's Rip Van Winkle sleep between Crochet Castle and Gryll Grange. A dated table is appended for the convenience of a bird's-eye view.[1]*
- ↑
1816 Headlong Hall
1817 Melincourt (also Northanger Abbey)
1818 Nightmare Abbey
1822 Maid Marian
1828 The Voyage of Captain Popanilla
1829 The Misfortunes of Elphin
1831 Crochet Castle
1833 Ixion, and The Infernal Marriage
1839 Catherine
1841 The Yellowplush Papers
1845 The Legend of the Rhine
1847 Novels by Eminent Hands
1849 The Great Hoggarty Diamond
1850 Rebecca and Rowena
