Catherine Gore

Dinah Roe (Oxford Brookes University)
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Catherine Grace Francis Gore (née Moody) was a prolific novelist, playwright and translator who came to prominence as a writer of “fashionable novels”, also known as “silver-fork” fiction. More notable for commercial success than literary merit, silver-fork novels were set in the glittering world of the high society marriage market. Though they detailed the lifestyles of the aristocracy, they were aimed at an aspiring middle-class Victorian readership. Gore was a socialite and famous conversationalist as well as a writer, and her novels are elevated by snappy dialogue, satirical humour and witty epigrams. Although largely forgotten today, in its time Gore's work invited comparisons with Bulwer Lytton, Disraeli and Thackeray. All three men were suggested in the contemporary press…

1589 words

Citation: Roe, Dinah. "Catherine Gore". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 September 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1812, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1812 Catherine Gore 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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