Lucas Malet, The History of Richard Calmady

Talia Schaffer (Queens College, CUNY)
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The History of Sir Richard Calmady

(1901), among the most famous and controversial novels of the turn of the century, was written by Lucas Malet (Mary St Leger Kingsley Harrison). The novel includes sexually explicit material made possible only by Malet's strategic use of a highly wrought aesthetic discourse. It traces the psychological development of a disabled man as he moves from profound self-hatred towards slow acceptance.

Sir Richard Calmady

is also remarkable for its female characters, including Richard's cousin, Helen de Vallorbes. Helen is a manipulative, narcissistic, and sexually voracious female dandy. After his affair with Helen, Richard reforms and ultimately marries another cousin, Honoria St. Quentin. Honoria, however, is a New Woman, a lesbian feminist socialist activist,…

149 words

Citation: Schaffer, Talia. "The History of Richard Calmady". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 January 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=595, accessed 19 March 2024.]

595 The History of Richard Calmady 3 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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