Azemia Explained

Azemia
Author:William Thomas Beckford
Country:United Kingdom
Genre:Satire
Pub Date:1797

Azemia is a satirical novel, written by William Thomas Beckford, that was first published in 1797. The book parodies what Beckford considered sensationalist writing, as well as political issues of the time.[1]

Plot

Volume I

Mr. Grimshaw is the Esquire of a manor who is very cruel to his subordinates and especially wife. His current wife attempts to escape from his manor by the help of the ghost of deceased wife but her plan is thwarted and she is held captive. Mr. Grimshaw throws Mrs. Grimshaw in the dungeon for over a year sometimes going days with only bread and water. On a second attempt at escape, Mrs. Grimshaw meets an old family friend, Mr. Auberry, who had come to check on her well-being. Mr. Auberry learns of her misfortunes but cannot help her. Meanwhile, Mrs. Grimshaw learns that the ghost is Gertrude Grimshaw and that Mr. Grimshaw had killed her and her brother so they now walk the castle at midnight (the time of their deaths). Finally, Mrs. Grimshaw escapes with the help of the ghosts and Mr. Auberry who she then marries.

Volume II

Characters

Authorship

Beckford attempted to solidify the identity of Azemia’s false author, Jacquette Agenta Mariana Jenks, by including a rather flowery letter of dedication "To the Right Honourable Lady Harriet Marlow", which presents the novel as an "inferior production" being given to Lady Marlow by an admiring fan.[2] In this dedication, Beckford subtly weaved the kind of feminine sentimentality that the novel is purported to critique,[3] in admitting the story as an indulgence of "the trepidating tenderness of a too sensible imagination".[4] The Minerva Press, seen as the target of Beckford's critique,[5] was a large presence in publishing during Beckford's time.[6]
Critics, however, were not fooled by Azemias pseudonym, Miss Jenks, and in fact many aligned its author with that of "The Right Honorable Lady Harriet Marlow", which is the pseudonym used by Beckford in writing The Modern Novel.[7] Such a connection was made apparent in Azemia’s dedication to Lady Marlow.,[8] The British Critic rightly identified the similarity between these two of Beckford's works, but went so far as to claim the topic as "exhausted in the first attempt"; the "first attempt" being The Modern Novel, which had been reviewed in the journal's previous volume.[9] Furthermore, the novel's author was assumed to be male, thus "false delicacy" was not assumed by the reviewer.[10]
In an attempt to counter the unveiling of Azemia's author as male, Beckford revised subsequent editions of the work to include an "Address", which deals directly with the assumption that Modern Novel Writing, and this by association of authorship, Azemia, were written by a male, more specifically Robert Merry.[11] His justification comes in the form of a parable, prefaced by yet another stab at feminine inferiority cloaked as humility, called "Edward and Ellen".[12] The story, having nothing to do with the novel itself, if merely meant to illustrate through its supposed shared authorship by Miss Jenks, that the author of Azemia is undoubtedly female.[13]

Critical reviews

Azemia received mixed reviews, but a general trend among reviewers was to rave about the poetic prowess while expressing disdain for the prose itself. For example, The Critical Review states plainly, "the satirical poetry in this work is preferable to the prose", while other publications such as British Review glorify the poetry as "well, and even happily executed."[14] Many reviews seemed to recognize the capability of the author, and claimed regret that his talents were used in such an inferior fashion, as in the Lady's Monthly Museum profile of Beckford. Their article supports his aim "to hold up to ridicule the flimsy narrative of those affected scribblers whose volumes loaded the shelves of our circulating libraries".[15] They too, however, express regret as his having wasted his time and talent on such an endeavor. In fact, Beckford himself acknowledges its position in Azemia's "Address" [16] Despite disappointment in the work as a whole, the Monthly Review went so far as to claim the work as "under the direction of GENIUS" and that its quality, though perhaps not superior, to be still "acceptable to many readers".[17] The same review hails "Azemia" as ""an entertaining compound of good taste and good writing,- just satire and whimsical fancy".

Available editions

Notes and References

  1. Beckford, William. Azemia, back cover. Valancourt Books, Missouri. 2010
  2. Beckford, William. Azemia, p. 3. Valancourt Books, Missouri. 2010
  3. Gemmett, Robert J. "William Beckford's Authorship of Modern Novel Writing and Azemia" Bibliographical Society of America. 98:iii[2004] p. 314
  4. Beckford, William. Azemia, p. 4. Valancourt Books, Missouri. 2010
  5. Gemmett, Robert J. "William Beckford's Authorship of Modern Novel Writing and Azemia" Bibliographical Society of America. 98:iii(2004) p. 314
  6. Summers, Montague. The Gothic Quest, London 1938. p.74
  7. Monthly Review, London, 24 (1797:Nov) p.338
  8. Gemmett, Robert J. "William Beckford's Authorship of Modern Novel Writing and Azemia" Bibliographical Society of America. 98:iii(2004) 314
  9. British Critic, 10 (1797:Oct.) p.43
  10. Monthly Visitor, and Pocket Companion, 2 (1797:July) p.45
  11. British Critic, 9 (Jan. 1797) p. 76
  12. Beckford, William. Azemia, p. 7-8. Valancourt Books, Missouri. 2010
  13. Beckford, William. Azemia, p. 7. Valancourt Books, Missouri. 2010
  14. British Critic, London, 10 (1797:Oct.) p.43
  15. Lady's Monthly Museum, or, Polite repository of amusement and instruction, 19 (1824:Feb.) p.71
  16. Beckford, William. Azemia, p. 7. Valancourt Books, Missouri. 2010
  17. Monthly Review, 24 (1797:Nov.) p.338

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