Galt's 'Rothelan' 1824

 

First edition - 1824

I think Galt struggled with this one; certainly, I did. There were two tales here: firstly, the uneven storyline of the fictitious Rothelan; secondly, a history lesson on Edward III and his times - his passion for the Countess of Salisbury, his setting up of the Round Table, the capture of Calais and the battles of Crecy and Poitiers, and the Black Death. It felt almost as if Galt was copying from an actual History book.  The narrative veered from one tale to another, rarely seamless and often jarring. His use of "the Author", "the Chronicler" and "The Book" as the pretended authority was crude and did not disguise the fragmentary feeling throughout. 

At the start of Part V, Chapter I, we read: Again we find ourselves obliged to acknowledge, that the story of Rothelan does not run altogether quite so clear in THE BOOK as we could have wished; which makes us regret we had not resolved to present it in detached fragments, for no better are they, from which this work is constructed, rather than in that regular and well-digested form so much to be admired by the reader... This is a poor camouflage from an author who knows his story is not running smoothly. Galt immediately follows this by writing that he is most desirous of sending out two rather than three volumes (and meanders on about the public perhaps not being tied to the three-decker as much as the publishers). In fact, Rothelan only lasts until page 100 of Volume III, and Galt attaches three short pieces to get it to the required 314 pages.

What of the story of Rothelan? It is so uneven and spasmodic that it is hard to be positive about it. None of the characters attract the reader and the telling borders on the perfunctory.

Galt adds a Postscript, saying that his novel is but a version of the Annesley family in the reign of George II. This story is related in fourteen pages of very small type and is not very interesting.

There then followed three Tales of the Lazaretto, entitled The Quarantine. Due to the plague appearing in Malta, many inhabitants fled to Sicily, particularly to Messina. These included the riddlings of all nations; but still among them were many clever and curious adventurers, who had lived much, and seen a great deal. One of the ladies, none other than the Rev Pringle's daughter, Rachel! (still married to Captain Sabre), suggested that to lighten the sense of confinement, and to vary the monotony of living in a dull court... the gentlemen should contrive some recreation... The upshot was a decision that one or two of the party should entertain the others with the recital of some adventure, story, or song. 

Apparently, Galt had previously submitted the stories unsuccessfully to Blackwood in 1822. Ian Gordon, in his John Galt: The life of a writer (1972) wrote that the sad truth is that after Ringan Gilhaize, which did have quality, his Oliver and Boyd books are without value. I am afraid I agree. The first of the three tales - The Physiognomist - was rambling and boring and very unlikely;  The Improvisatoré, was slightly better, with some amusing episodes (especially that of Carlina and the dog); The German's Tale, dealing with the occult, did not attract me at all. Where or where was the Galt of Annals of the Parish or The Provost. I hope for a return to superior writing in his later books.