Gentlemen in England (Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: A. N. Wilson
- First Published: 1985
- Type of Work: Satire
- Time of Work: 1880
- Setting: Victorian England
- Principal Characters: Horace Nettleship, Charlotte Nettleship, Maudie Nettleship, Lionel Nettleship, Tlmothy Lupton, Waldo Chatterway
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Culture, Family or family life, Sex or sexuality, Nineteenth century, Marriage, God, Spiritual life or spirituality, England or English people, Faith, Ethics, Comedy, Senses or sensation, Geology or geologists, Victorian era or Victorianism
- Locales: England
The Novel
Geologist and volcano expert Horace Nettleship has long ago lost his inherited Christian faith; the world to him seems “an infinitely empty, infinitely extensible accident.” Unwilling to confront or debate her husband’s negative affirmation of faith, Charlotte retreats from him psychologically, consumed by the task of leaving “footsteps on the sands of time by embroidering cream-jug covers or writing letters, or managing the servants.”
They speak only in public, their lack of intimacy extending from the bedroom to the dinner table—where they...
[The entire page is 1399 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
