Novel 316: Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick, A Splendid Cousin (1892)
A self-involved would-be musician bedevils her cousin’s life.
Here is another novel by Sidgwick, for whom see Novels 082, 142, 200 and 258.
The title character is “an exaggeration” but “near enough . . . to a reality of the present day to be worth satirizing.” Bookman, January 1892
“It is a sombre tragedy, told with a simplicity and directness which heightens its effect. The obvious criticism that might be made is that all the characters are slightly exaggerated. . . . But this exaggeration, which would be a defect in a more elaborate book, really adds to the vividness of this short sketch; too much care bestowed on fine distinctions of light and shade would have weakened the strength and distinctness of the rapid impression so admirably given.” Athenaeum, January 14, 1892
A contrasting view:
“Ibsen-and-water.” Academy, January 21, 1892
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