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The Adventures of Rivella (1714) by Delarivier Manley

Cover Page of Adventures of Rivella. 1714

The Adventures of Rivella (1714) is the last novel written by eighteenth century English author Delarivier Manley (1663 or c. 1670 – 1724).[1] The fictional work is a semi-autobiographical account of Delarivier Manley’s life seen through the character of Rivella. Delarivier Manley’s final novel, which was later edited and published by Edmund Curl, is a fictional account of her own life before, during, and after her bigamous marriage.[2] The events and incidents incurred by the fictional character ‘Rivella’ are told through a literary conversation between two male protagonists, being Sir Lovemore and Sir D’Aumont.[3] The story tells that the young chevalier D'Aumont has left France in search of sexual partnership with the author and instead finds the rejected lover, Sir Charles Lovemore who does not assist the Frenchman in arranging contact with Rivella, but tells her life story instead, both as it relates in public gossip and her personal writings.[4] Accordingly, the narrator Sir Lovemore recounts his incursions with the irresistible and charming young woman named Rivella and her career as a political writer, defendant in two separate trials, and ultimately her search for love and companionship. Through these two characters, Manley addresses literary questions regarding conventional notions of female writers in England during the eighteenth century, as well as the distinction between sexual abstinence and moral virtue.

Plot Summary

The novel comprises of a title page, a preface, an introduction, and a continuous paragraphed narrative, with a total of approximately 27,000 words. The novel begins somewhat conventionally, with the exchange between with the fictive characters of Sir Charles Lovemore, and Chevalier D’Aumont who are in a private and deep conversation in the Somerset House Garden.[5] Sir Charles Lovemore extenuates upon his personal interaction and affections for Rivella. Lovemore indicates to D’Aumont and Manley’s readership that he is in love with Rivella and depicts a woman that is witty, alluring, and sensual.[6] However, later in the novel she descends into disgrace, as her writings are used against her during her imprisonment.[7] The narrative is made further complex when characters and their respective schemes are revealed, which continually allude to similar real-world events such as the deposition of James II (1688).[8] Additionally, Rivella discusses her part in a major lawsuit, where she defends her ethical nature against unethical individuals. True to the semi-autobiographical nature of Manley’s novel, this lawsuit mirrors an actual lawsuit the Delarivier Manley was subject to in her own life.[9] Subsequently, this work demonstrates Manley’s repositioning of her political and ethical attitudes into more moderate connotations, in preparation for the imitate shift in 18^th century political power in England.[10]

Sources

This section will aim to explain the developmental history of The Adventures of Rivella as well as describe its origin as a fictional, autobiographical work that represents the life of Delarivier Manley.

Analysis & Scholarship

The Adventures of Rivella (1714) has long intrigued modern scholars, because of Delarivier Manley’s complicated use of frame in her narrative, its flirtatious expression of a female voice in the public eye, and its multifaceted relationship to multiple literary genres. Critics have described Manley’s allusion ravaged text as a “quasi-fictional autobiography”[11] or a “pseudo-autobiography”[12] that mixes both fact and fiction. The novel has been best described as a frame-narrative, which presents what Fidelis Morgan (1986) claims is a preeminent source for information about the life of its author Delarivier Manley.[13]

In an essay written as part of an introduction to the 1972 publication of Manley’s Adventures of Rivella, Malcolm Bosse contends that Manley had written her final novel in hast, as to possibly offset and forestall the publication of a diatribe written by Charles Gildon, which would have possibly incriminated Manley.[14] Within her fictional autobiography, she avoided defending her conduct as a satirical writer of politics in favour of seeking to justify her behaviour as an eighteenth century woman. Rivella begins with what is labeled as a “Translator’s Preface”[15], which declares that the novel to follow is a translation from its original state as a French manuscript. Although this preface exists only in the novel’s first addition, with the second edition being published without it in 1717, Manley’s claim that her fictional autobiography was a translation shows somewhat of a distance aesthetically from other eighteenth century writers such as Daniel Defoe.[16] Some scholars have stated that this use of a translation technique was a tool, which Delarivier Manley employed to protect herself against defamation.[17] 

Manley’s knowledge of dramatic fiction has been consistently discovered throughout her fiction, and in the case of Rivella is used to depict two men discussing the physical attributes that a woman must possess to be seen as desirable.[18] In these early stages of the narrative, Manley takes the opportunity to satirically provide a rapturous account of her beauty and attractiveness. However, her fictional self-portrait has led particular scholars to stipulate that the character of Rivella illustrates a woman whose difficulties in life have arouse from her own sensuality, or as it is stated in the novel, from “the Greatness of her Prepossession.”[19] Accordingly, “what emerges here is a realistic account of female vulnerability to passion and the sad consequences of unfounded optimism.”[20]

Further analysis has also pointed out multitudes of stylistic simplicities and a lack of a coherent novel structure.[21] However, The Adventures of Rivella has clearly demonstrated a congruence between Delarivier Manley’s life as the author and the themes of her subsequent fiction. In her novel, Manley’s life is presented as socially involved, energetic, and fragmentary. Therefore, it stands as an intriguing psychological study of a woman who was a popular eighteenth-century novelist with insights into the abundance of her idiosyncratic creativity.[22]

In a 1989 essay by Janet Todd, The Adventures of Rivella (1714) is described as a fictional autobiography that tells the life of a literary character who claims to have be the writer of another one Delarivier Manley’s novels, the New Atlantis, which by the time of Rivella’s publication had become an infamous literary work.[23] For Todd, Rivella was born plain between two beautiful sisters.[24] Nonetheless, Rivella acquired a lifelong admirer being Sir Charles Lovemore who now is translating her story. After the death of her father, Rivella is easily persuaded into a bigamous marriage with an older nobleman, who becomes her guardian.[25] The marriage substantiated into a violent and bigamous partnership, leaving Rivella as a fallen woman alone and without a protector.[26]

Nevertheless, in Rivella’s recovery, she begins using her wit and reputation to write for the stage, which stood out as the clear outlet for expression at the time for the female writer. Additionally, the narrator of Rivella accentuates that the narrative of Delia in The New Atlantis is in actuality the life story of the author.[27] Consequently, Rivella the famous author becomes the product Delia’s sexual victimization as an innocent young orphan.[28] Linguistically, by putting the names of the two major characters Delia and Rivella together, the result is the first name of the real-world author of both novels, being Delarivier.[29]

Publication History

This section will recount the novel’s publication origins and lineage, including the year and location of publication, publisher name, and any major republications up to the present date.

Literary Significance & Reception

The purpose of this section is to provide a description of the work’s initial reception and legacy based on the work of literary critics and commentators over the years. It may also include a list of any awards or significant nominations Manley’s work received, as well as a brief description of any adaptions of the novel’s fictional narrative.

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[1] Delarivier Manley, The Adventures of Rivella, edited by Katherine Zelinsky (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1999)

[2] Delarivier Manley, The Adventures of Rivella, edited by Katherine Zelinsky (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1999)

[3] Bosse, Malcolm. Introduction to The Adventures of Rivella, by Mary de la Rivière Manley, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1972, p. 120.

[4] Delarivier Manley, The Adventures of Rivella, edited by Katherine Zelinsky (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1999)

[5] Delarivier Manley, The Adventures of Rivella, edited by Katherine Zelinsky (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1999)

[6] Barash, Carol L. "Gender, authority and the ‘life ‘of an eighteenth-century woman writer: Delarivière Manley's adventures of Rivella." In Women's Studies International Forum, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 165-169. Pergamon, 1987.

[7] Barash, Carol L. "Gender, authority and the ‘life ‘of an eighteenth-century woman writer: Delarivière Manley's adventures of Rivella." In Women's Studies International Forum, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 165-169. Pergamon, 1987.

[8] Bosse, Malcolm. Introduction to The Adventures of Rivella, by Mary de la Rivière Manley, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1972, p. 120.

[9] Morgan, Fidelis. A woman of no character: an autobiography of Mrs. Manley. (Faber & Faber, 1986).

[10] Boyce, Benjamin. Introduction to Prefaces to Fiction, William Andres Clark Memorial Library, No. 32, 1952, pp. i-x.

[11] Carnell, Rachel. "The Adventures of Rivella as Political Secret History." In New Perspectives on Delarivier Manley and Eighteenth Century Literature, pp. 33-47. Routledge, 2016.

[12] Carnell, Rachel. "The Adventures of Rivella as Political Secret History." In New Perspectives on Delarivier Manley and Eighteenth Century Literature, pp. 33-47. Routledge, 2016.

[13] Morgan, Fidelis. A woman of no character: an autobiography of Mrs. Manley. (Faber & Faber, 1986).

[14] Bosse, Malcolm. Introduction to The Adventures of Rivella, by Mary de la Rivière Manley, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1972, p. 120.

[15] Delarivier Manley, The Adventures of Rivella, edited by Katherine Zelinsky (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1999).

[16] Bosse, Malcolm. Introduction to The Adventures of Rivella, by Mary de la Rivière Manley, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1972.

[17] Morgan, Fidelis. A woman of no character: an autobiography of Mrs. Manley. (Faber & Faber, 1986)

[18] Bosse, Malcolm. Introduction to The Adventures of Rivella, by Mary de la Rivière Manley, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1972.

[19] Delarivier Manley, The Adventures of Rivella, edited by Katherine Zelinsky (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1999).

[20] See Enotes, (2019). https://www.enotes.com/topics/delarivier-manley/critical-essays/criticism.

[21] See Patricia Koster's comprehensive introduction to The Novels of Mary Delariviere Manley (Gainesville, Fla., 1971), I, pp. v-xxviii.

[22] Bosse, Malcolm. Introduction to The Adventures of Rivella, by Mary de la Rivière Manley, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1972.

[23] Todd, Janet. Life after Sex: Delarivier Manley," in The Sign of Angelica: Women, Writing, and Fiction 1660-1800, Virago Press, 1989, pp. 84-98.

[24] Todd, Janet. Life after Sex: Delarivier Manley," in The Sign of Angelica: Women, Writing, and Fiction 1660-1800, Virago Press, 1989, pp. 84-98.

[25] Delarivier Manley, The Adventures of Rivella, edited by Katherine Zelinsky (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1999).

[26] See Enotes, (2019). https://www.enotes.com/topics/delarivier-manley/critical-essays/criticism.

[27] Todd, Janet. Life after Sex: Delarivier Manley," in The Sign of Angelica: Women, Writing, and Fiction 1660-1800, Virago Press, 1989, pp. 84-98.

[28] See Manley, M., 2005. The Selected Works of Delarivier Manley: The new Atlantis (1709) (Vol. 2). Pickering and Chatto.

[29] Todd, Janet. Life after Sex: Delarivier Manley," in The Sign of Angelica: Women, Writing, and Fiction 1660-1800, Virago Press, 1989, pp. 84-98.

References:

1.     Delarivier Manley, The Adventures of Rivella, edited by Katherine Zelinsky (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1999)

2.    Barash, Carol L. "Gender, authority and the ‘life ‘of an eighteenth-century woman writer: Delarivière Manley's adventures of Rivella." In Women's Studies International Forum, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 165-169. Pergamon, 1987.

3.    Bosse, Malcolm. Introduction to The Adventures of Rivella, by Mary de la Rivière Manley, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1972, p. 120.

4.    Boyce, Benjamin. Introduction to Prefaces to Fiction, William Andres Clark Memorial Library, No. 32, 1952, pp. i-x.

5.     Carnell, Rachel. "The Adventures of Rivella as Political Secret History." In New Perspectives on Delarivier Manley and Eighteenth Century Literature, pp. 33-47. Routledge, 2016.

6.    Todd, Janet. Life after Sex: Delarivier Manley," in The Sign of Angelica: Women, Writing, and Fiction 1660-1800, Virago Press, 1989, pp. 84-98.

7.    Koster, Patricia, A Comprehensive Introduction to The Novels of Mary Delariviere Manley (Gainesville, Fla., 1971), I, pp. v-xxviii.

Morgan, Fidelis. A woman of no character: an autobiography of Mrs. Manley. (Faber & Faber, 1986)

Sources I'd like to include on the page: User:Mp4hunnid/The Adventures of Rivella

Manley, Delarivier, and Katherine Zelinsky. The Adventures of Rivella. (Broadview Press, 1999).

This book will be primarily used in the “Plot summary”, “Sources”, and “Themes and Analysis” sections of the article. It provides a detailed preface and revised edition of Manley’s original novel edited by Zelinsky, which will prove integral to summating the novel’s content, and developmental history. Essentially, it would be impossible to write a verifiable and notable article about the novel without having articulate references to the narratives literary details and contents, which this source provides. Comparatively, this source provides ‘significant coverage’ of the articles topic by essentially being a published secondary source’ that contains an edited version of The Adventures of Rivella.

Morgan, Fidelis. A woman of no character: an autobiography of Mrs. Manley. (Faber & Faber, 1986).

This publication is a secondary source that provides a scholarly review of Delarivier Manley’s life as depicted in her fictional works The New Atlantis (1709) and The Adventures of Rivella (1714). As this source is ‘independent of the subject’ of my article It will be used mostly within the “Themes & Analysis” section of the article for its literary critique of the novel’s form and contents. However, it could also be referenced in the “Literary Significance & Reception” section as the source provides a detailed reaction to Manley as a female writer, and to the novel’s reception as a fictional description of Manley’s life.

Barash, Carol L. "Gender, authority and the ‘life ‘of an eighteenth-century woman writer: Delarivière Manley's adventures of Rivella." In Women's Studies International Forum, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 165-169. Pergamon, 1987.

This academic journal article is a published secondary source that is ‘independent of the subject’ of my article, and provides a discussion on how The Adventures of Rivella is characterised by the structures of representation that grow out of women’s social and economic situation in the early eighteenth century. Subsequently, it will be used in the Themes & Analysis” section of the Wikipedia article for ‘significant coverage’ of the novel’s narrative and themes through its literary critique.

Carnell, Rachel. "The Adventures of Rivella as Political Secret History." In New Perspectives on Delarivier Manley and Eighteenth Century Literature, pp. 33-47. Routledge, 2016.

This secondary source provides a significant amount of information regarding the literary and socio-economic significance of The Adventures of Rivella at its time of publication. In its form as a journal article it remains ‘independent of the subject’ whilst elaborating and explaining key moments in the novel’s narrative in relation to Delarivier Manley’s political position. This article will be a beneficial and reliable source when writing both the “Themes & Analysis” and “Literary Significance and Reception” sections due to it being part of a published book on the subject of my article.

Temple, Kathryn. "Manley's “Feigned Scene”: The Fictions of Law at Westminster Hall." Eighteenth-Century Fiction 22, no. 4 (2010): 573-598.

This article will be used alongside it’s for mentioned counterparts to contribute to the ‘notability’ of the “Themes & Analysis” section. Written by an author who is ‘independent of the subject’, this article will provide great insight into the novel’s relationship with socio-politically historic events that occurred during the eighteenth century in England. Essentially, this article provides ‘significant coverage’ of the novel and its author, whilst maintaining its ‘reliability’ as a secondary source that has been published in a peer-reviewed journal.