Alfred de Rosann by G.W.M. Reynolds

About this issue

By G. W. M. Reynolds, this 1839 penny dreadful serial follows a French aristocratic family fleeing the Revolution's violence. M. d'Estelle and his infant daughter Eloise arrive in London in 1793 after his wife dies from illness. They lodge with surgeon Mr. Clayton and his family, where Eloise is raised alongside Clayton's sons William and Henry (the latter devoted to her). D'Estelle, yearning to recover his confiscated French property, returns to Paris after encountering an old servant. Letters report his initial success obtaining funds, but a subsequent dispatch reveals political deception has forced him into hiding. The narrative concerns the separated family and how their futures will intersect, particularly through the bonds formed during childhood between Eloise and the Clayton boys. A sentimental melodrama of exile and separation amid Napoleonic-era politics.