Georgianna Cavendish, duchess of Devonshire was one of the leading ladies of her time. There for, her novel, which contains many autobiographical plots, has been published anonymously. The author was thought to have been Sophia Briscoe, a contemporary novelist, or Fanny Burney, author of Evelina which was published at about the same time. However the duchess admitted to writing the story of Julia Grenville, a welsh beauty who marries an older man. She very quickly discovers her husband is a libertine and a rake, and that she has no idea how to behave in London society. Yet she has a sylph, a man who watches over her and gives her advice. The novel shows London society in a scathing manner, and teaches us that even in the darkest times there are good people along the way.
By : Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (1757 - 1806)
01 - Section 1: letters 1 and 2- from Sir William Stanley to Lord Bidolph
02 - Section 2: letter 3: from Julia Stanley to Miss Grenville
03 - Section 3: letter 4: from Lord Bidolph to Colonel MONTAGUE
04 - Section 4: letter 5- from Louisa Grenville to Lady Stanley
05 - Section 5: Letter 6: from HENRY WOODLEY to James Spencer
06 - Section 6: letter 7- from James Spencer to Henry Woodley
07 - Section 7: letter 8- from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
08 - Section 8: letter 9-Part 1. from Mr. Grenville to Lady Stanley
09 - Section 9:-Letter 9-Part 2-from Mr. Grenville to Lady Stanley
10 - Section 10: letter 10- from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
11 - Section 11: letter 11- from Miss Grenville to Lady Stanley
12 - Section 12: letters 12-14- from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
13 - Section 13: letter 15- from Miss Grenville to Lady Stanley
14 - Section 14: letters 16-17: from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
15 - Section 15: letter 18- from Miss Grenville to Lady Stanley
16 - Section 16: letters 19-21: from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
17 - Section 17: letter 22- from Lord Bidolph to Colonel MONTAGUE
18 - Section 18: letters 23- 24: from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
19 - Section 19: letter 25- from the Sylph to Lady Stanley
20 - Section 20: letter 26- from Lady Stanley to the Sylph
21 - Section 21: letters 27-28: from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
22 - Section 22: letter 29- from the Sylph to Lady Stanley
23 - Section 23: letter 30- from Lady Stanley to the Sylph
24 - section 24: letter 31- from Miss Grenville to Lady Stanley
25 - Section 25: letter 32- from Lady Stanley to the Sylph
26 - Section 26: letter 33- from the Sylph to Lady Stanley
27 - section 27: letter 34- from Lady Stanley to the Sylph
28 - Section 28: letters 35-36: from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
29 - Section 29: letter 37- from the Sylph to Lady Stanley
30 - Section 30: letter 38- from Lady Stanley to the Sylph
31 - Section 31: letter 39- from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
32 - Section 32: letter 40- from Lord Bidolph to Colonel MONTAGUE
33 - Section 33: letter 41- from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
34 - Section 34: letter 42- from Sir William Stanley to Lord Bidolph
35 - Section 35: letter 43- from GEORGE BRUDENEL to William Stanley
36 - Section 36: letter 44- from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
37 - Section 37: letter 45- from Lord Bidolph to Colonel MONTAGUE
38 - section 38: letter 46: from Lady Stanley to Julia Grenville
39 - Section 39: letter 47- from Lord Bidolph to Colonel MONTAGUE
40 - Section 40: letter 48- from Miss Finch to Miss Grenville
41 - Section 41: letter 49- from the Sylph to Lady Stanley
42 - Section 42: from Edward Stanley to Sir GEORGE BRUDENEL
43 - Section 43: letter 51- from Lady Stanley to Miss Finch
44 - Section 44: letters 52-54: from Miss Grenville to Lady Stanley
45 - Section 45: letter 55- from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
46 - Section 46: letter 56- from Miss Grenville to Lady Stanley
47 - Section 47: letters 57-58: from Lady Stanley to Miss Grenville
48 - Section 48: letters 59-60: from Lady Stanley to Lady BRUDENEL
49 - Section 49: letter 61- from Lady BRUDENEL to Lady Stanley
The Sylph is an epistolary novel. It centres on Julia Grenville, a Welsh beauty and ingenue (with whom there are parallels with Cavendish herself) who leaves her idyllic rustic life to marry a rich member of the aristocracy. Over the course of time she uncovers the fact that her husband is a rake and a libertine, lavishing his wealth on gambling and mistresses. The letters are chiefly written to her sisters and provide narrative detail about Julia's life in London and her disillusionment with the mores of the inhabitants of the city as well as her miscarriage. We also discover that she has a long-term admirer, Henry Woodley, that she has growing affections for another man (the Baron Ton-hausen) and also that she has a mysterious and enigmatic protector and guardian, who is the 'sylph' of the title. The sylph helps provide advice to Julia on the way to negotiate the labyrinth of metropolitan high society, appearing in the work only in the double fictional form of a masquerade.
Eventually Julia's husband commits suicide as a result of his hefty gambling debts and Julia returns to her family in Wales.
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