Old Margaret Volume 1; A novel
Set in fifteenth-century Ghent, Old Margaret (1871) is a late historical novel by Henry Kingsley (1830-1876), the Victorian writer whose early Australian fiction once rivalled his brother Charles Kingsley’s fame. The title character is Margaret Van Eyck, sister of the painters Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, and the brothers themselves move through the story along with Philip, Duke of Burgundy, against a backdrop of Flemish guild life and civic unrest. Published by Tinsley Brothers of London, this first volume opens the tale. The novel sold poorly on release, appearing during the difficult final years when Kingsley was writing at speed to stay afloat, yet it shows his lasting interest in painters, craftsmen, and quiet courage. Free PDF download available on BDeBooks.
About the Author
Kingsley was Charles Kingsley’s younger brother and spent five years failing at the Australian goldfields before coming home to write The Recollections of Geoffry Hamlyn, treated for a long time as the first substantial Australian novel. Ravenshoe is the one critics still rate. He edited…
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