was published in three volumes by Tinsley Brothers in 1866 and was based on a short story of the same name that Ellen Wood had published in

in 1853. While it did not replicate the incredible success of her most famous novel, an American review declared

to be “superior to

”, and claimed that, “with the exception of Dickens, she is, of all novelists, the most widely read, either in England or here” (“Review of New Books” 1866, 369). In contrast to the half a million copies of

that were sold in the nineteenth century,

had sold around 90,000 copies by the end of the century (Pykett 2004, vii). Like many of Wood’s novels, it is melodramatic and sensational, and its depiction of…

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Citation: Steere, Elizabeth. "St Martin's Eve". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 June 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1891, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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