Not Wisely, but Too Well [annotated]

by Rhoda Broughton, Tamar Heller (Editor)

"Since this time yesterday she had made the pleasing discovery that she was fast falling in love violently, and as it now appeared unrequitedly, with a man her superior in station, and in every respect unlikely to prove a satisfactory object for that passion which forms the main plot of a woman’s life, and is only a small secondary byplay in a man’s. Yes, the play of her life had begun, and whether it was to be a tragedy or a comedy who could tell?"

“The most thoroughly sensual tale I have read in English for a long time,” complained Geraldine Jewsbury in her reader’s report on Rhoda Broughton’s Not Wisely, but Too Well (1867). Initially serialised in The Dublin University Magazine, the novel had been brought to the attention of the publisher Bentley and Son by its editor, J S Le Fanu, who also happened to be Broughton’s uncle. Although Jewsbury convinced Bentley that this novel was unsuitable for “decent people”, she succeeded only in delaying its publication, as Broughton instead struck a deal with their rival, Tinsley Brothers. While Broughton ultimately triumphed, she was obliged to make extensive revisions, promising to “expunge it of coarseness and slanginess, & to rewrite those passages which cannot be toned down”.

Jewsbury’s moral squeamishness was not shared by the reading public, who were thrilled by Broughton’s vivid depiction of Kate Chester teetering on the brink of an adulterous liaison with the solipsistic and haughty Dare Stamer. Notwithstanding the extensive editorial changes, Broughton’s novel remains a pioneering portrayal of female sexuality, or what Jewsbury called “highly coloured & hot blooded passion”.

Reproducing the text of its first appearance in volume form, this new edition of Not Wisely, but Too Well illuminates the novel’s ideological and aesthetic complexity through appendices related to its publication history, revision, and reception. These appendices include a section containing Jewsbury’s reader’s report and Broughton and Le Fanu’s correspondence with the Bentleys, a list of variants between serial and volume formats of the novel, and a selection of contemporary reviews. Together these materials provide a fascinating case study of the coming to print, and reception, of a controversial Victorian text, while also attesting to the challenges Broughton faced in representing female desire in her early fiction.

This completely reset critical edition includes:

* Introduction by Tamar Heller
* Explanatory footnotes
* Rhoda Broughton chronology
* Select bibliography
* Correspondence from the Bentley Archives relating to Not Wisely, but Too Well
* Textual variants between the serialised and three-decker versions, including the original ending
* Selection of contemporary reviews and responses.

Genres: Victorian, 19th Century, Gothic, Romance, Fiction, British Literature, Classics

446 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1867

About the author

Rhoda Broughton was a popular British (Welsh) novelist and short story writer.

Reviews

[Zynab · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible read! This account of how a green girl grows into a solemn, determined woman with demons and angels grabbing at her skirts as she navigates the commonplace cruelties of living life should be canon. Wrongly labeled as a sensuous romance and sensation novel by Victorian Secrets who republished it (in an otherwise wonderful critical edition); this is a very spiritual book with a morbidly beautiful central theme on the glory (or shame) of death and the afterlife. It also contains a very realistic, tender portrayal of a suicidal woman. It is one of my new favorites and I will forever hold it dearly to my heart.

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book mentioned in another book I read recently and knowing that I find gems this way, I had to read this story. I read this edition and I strongly recommend it, for many reasons besides the annotated which was excellent, it included the original version which has differences and a completely different conclusion. "Not Wisely" was published in serial form from DUM (Dublin University Magazine) but later was released in 3 volume format with changes. When reading I would read "x" number of pages and then look briefly at the changes which helped see the differences in the stories. The DUM version had the character of Dare more a brute and blackguard, whereas in volume 3, he was a rake but softened a bit. I liked the 3 volume better but the DUM version was quite shocking and good too. When reading this story it reminded me of Richardson's Clarissa Harlowe, a truly favorite of mine, but they are quite different. Kate, in Not Wisely must control her passions of Dare, who would like her to take the step unfooled, whereas Lovelace of Clarissa fools Clarissa into that "one step". Clarissa and Kate must decide do they want to be closer to heaven or walk a path of sin. Kate is not your typical Victorian heroine which makes her actions more interesting, and Broughton brings Kate to life. A story that is not easily forgotten.

[Fran]

DNF 36%. I'm sorry but this is just agonizing. The pacing is TERRIBLE. IDK why so many people make this out to be more scandalous than CUAAF when it's just noooot. So damn boring. I'm just going to read about it in secondary scholarship and call it a day.

[Karen Kohoutek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow this was not what I expected, especially since I knew its scandalous reputation. The narrator is odd, too: often ironic, going into lengthy musings on side topics, with lots of classical allusions, and also positioned as a character who knows the people intimately, and is in love with the main character, but who is never identified or explained. But the parts that deal with the heroine's interior life, and her reactions to things, are very vivid and well-realized. Maybe the generally detached tone provides a grounding background for the extravagant emotionalism, so it never comes off like an over-heated romance, but a character study of someone feeling extravagant emotions. So quite interesting, and and a good addition to your collection of novels about sex and romance in the 19th century. I'm sure you all have one.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the novel itself, 3.5 stars. For the presentation of the book - the extended Introduction and the extensive (just under 700!) annotations - 4.5 stars.

[Kalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

difficult to read because of the writing (run-on sentences filled with unnecessary commas plus an omniscient narrator who pops up in the middle of the story for no reason.) but i appreciated the story for what it was.