G.P.R. James' 'The Forgery' 1849

T.C. Newby first edition - 1849

There was certainly no falling off in James' proverbial output between 1843 and 1846. Towards the close of 1843, he had moved to a house called The Oaks in Upper Deal, Kent, only a mile away from his previous home, The Shrubbery. Not only did he write Agincourt, Arabella Stuart, Rose D'Albret (all published in 1844) and The Smuggler (1845), but he also compiled a long autobiographical piece for the collected and revised edition of his Romances, published from 1844 onwards by Smith and Elder. Here, he gave an interesting account of his method of prolific literary composition : I am an early riser; and any one who has that habit must know that it is a grand secret for getting through twice as much as lazier men can perform. Again, I write and read during some portion of every day...then again, the habit of dictating instead of writing with my own hand, relieves me of the  manual labour which many authors have to undergo, leaves the mind clear and free to act... The Step-Mother or Evil Doings was originally printed for Private Circulation only in 1845; then, as a second edition in 1846, in three volumes by Smith, Elder, and Company. 

The story commences with a brief background on a Mr. Humphrey Scriven, a highly educated and gifted man, the son of wealthy and respectable parents in a class of society peculiar to England, the untitled country gentry. Originally bound for the Church, a marriage to the only daughter of a rich merchant was only acceptable to her father if Humphrey became a merchant like himself. It is now some twenty years later; his wife is dead but she had left him four very handsome children...the daughters were all lovely, kind, affectionate, and gentle in disposition. Maria, the eldest, married Henry Marston and they both went out to India with sufficient capital to establish a house of merchandise there. Isabella, the second daughter, married Sir Edward Monkton, a baronet with ample means and property. The youngest daughter, Margaret, after an array of suitable and not so suitable suitors, finally succumbed to the rakish Sir John Fleetwood, but only after her father Humphrey, thrown by his horse, joined the counting house in the sky. Not before he leaves an eighth of his business to his young and faithful lawyer, Stephen Hayley. Humphrey's son, Henry, was a sharp, clever lad had been taught by circumstances to attach more importance to the possession of wealth than it deserves. An apprenticeship at Hamburg unfortunately gave vast development to certain germs of selfishness which were in the boy's own nature...his principles were always to gain something off every transaction...to regard everything with a mercantile eye. This deeply ingrained character was to play a major role, if not the major component in the novel.  Thus, Chapter I sets out the Scrivens' family tree as a prelude to the main narrative.

Ten years pass. The only one of the four children of the merchant, who had undergone few vicissitudes, who had known but little change, was the son, Henry. He had neither wife nor children. He had made money, and therefore he loved it all the better...people said that the house of Scriven and Co. was a hard house. Maria had given birth to Charles Marston, a stronger, finer little fellow was never seen. She, however, in frail health from the Indian climate, returned to England and died. Isabella Monkton lost her first three children and her ten-years'-older husband, but one daughter, Maria, survived. Almost inevitably, Sir John Fleetwood's scandalous life ended with a pistol shot through his lungs. Meanwhile, Stephen Hayley is also bringing up a child, Henry Hayley, whose mother is not talked about, being shrouded in mystery! The boy grows up in regular company with Charles Marston and they become close friends. The final family to bring into the story is that of the Earl of Milford and his son, Lord Mellent, the latter a friend and neighbour of the widowed Lady Monkton. The Mellents' daughter, Lady Anne Mellent, become a close bosom pal of Maria Monkton. Moreover, Henry Hayley is also treated with great kindness by Lord Mellent and also grows closely attached to Lady Anne. Has everyone followed so far? Actually, James has been quite skilful at explaining and developing these familial and other relationships.

Suffice it to say, we now have the main pieces on the novel's chessboard: Charles Marston; his cousin Maria Monkton; their aunt Lady Margaret Fleetwood; their uncle, Henry Scrivens; Lady Anne Mellent; and, most importantly, Stephen Hayley and his son Henry. What of The Forgery? It occurs when, Stephen Hayley, increasingly with financial troubles, passes a forged banker's draft with the fake signature of Henry Scrivens. Terrified of being found out, (it could lead to trial and even death if caught), he persuades young Henry to flee abroad, essentially taking the rap for the crime. He is pursued and traced to an Italian monastery where, alas, the officer finds he has died of a malignant fever. The waxy hue of the face, the plain ravages of illness. the closed eyes, the emaciated features...showed the officer that there indeed, before him, lay all that remained of the once gay, frank, happy boy. Well, that should be the end of it - bad luck Mr. Scriven; the forger has, like the famous parrot, simply ceased to be. However, the reader is only on page 109 of the first of three volumes.

Thus, it is with no great surprise, when the next chapter commences a decade later, that we read that Stephen Hayley may have expired (having given himself up to intemperance) but find first Maria and then Lady Anne quickly realising that the remarkably handsome man, though very dark, who they meet, going by the name of Colonel Frank Middleton, is none other than their childhood sweetheart Henry Hayley, returned after ten years to prove his innocence. The next two and a half volumes show the author at his best and at his worst (his usual flights of pseudo philosophy or, simply, 'padding'). The multiplicity of characters, both honourable and despicable are pulled along by the force of the narrative. Henry Scriven soon guesses who Middleton really is, as do aunt Lady Fleetwood and Charles Marston. One needs to suspend disbelief on several points in the tale and coincidence, as usual, plays too great a part; but it's all good telling, particularly for late autumnal evenings. 

There are the usual minor characters, such as two rogues - Sam Nugent a general dealer (i.e. a thug who steals Middleton/Hayley's important pocket book) and Mingy Bowes, a disreputable 'fence' (receiver/seller of stolen goods) - who try to blackmail Hayley and even Lady Fleetwood;  an amiable pedlar, Joshua Brown, who helps Middleton establish legally who he really is (spoiler alert - Middleton --> Hayley --> ??); Mr. Winkworth, a kindly old gentleman and confidant of Charles Marston and another character masquerading under an assumed name. All these add to the spice of the story. James has some good 'set pieces', in the various houses in London but, particularly in the denouement at Belford Castle, Lady Anne's family Northumberland mansion, where Henry Scrivens gets his comeuppance and Henry Hayley finally reclaims his honour and good name.  

Now on to my last G.P.R. James for a while - Margaret Graham: A Tale Founded on Fact (!848).  we