1. The 18 th Century British Novel A Genre in Progress

2. Problems of (Self-) Definition Finding an “origin” “Rise” or “development”? The “romance” vs. the “novel” Form and function Changing (property and marriage) laws The “middle-class”

3. Historical Conditions LAWS –Union of Scotland & England (1707) –Copyright Act of 1709 –Septennial Act (1716): requires elections only every 7 years (not every 3) –Trial of Sir Francis Charteris (1730): accused of raping a maid-servant, obtained a royal pardon –Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act of 1753

4. Common-law marriage prior to 1754 According to Church law, only a Roman Catholic priest could perform a legal marriage. This law did not apply in Protestant countries, obviously: –Common-law marriage or “marriage by habit and repute”

5. Definition of Common-law marriage Man and woman verbally agree to live together and to present themselves to the world at large as husband and wife. No need for legal documentation; any documentation not necessarily binding. No marriage license obtained from the government.

6. Problems Agreement is purely verbal. Clandestine and “Fleet Street” marriages. No legal age for marriage. No need for parental consent.

7. Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act (1753) Must have parental consent if under 21. Boys must be at least 14; girls must be at least 12 yrs. old. Banns must be published for three Sundays prior to the marriage: public announcement from the pulpit that a marriage will be taking place in that church between two specified individuals.

8. Scotland is the Exception! Why? –Because according to the Union of 1707, it was agreed that Scotland would retain its own laws and legal system. Result: Gretna Green becomes a popular honeymoon location for eloping couples.

9. Prior to the Copyright Act of 1709 Literary and intellectual property was treated like “regular” property: if an author sold the “copy” of his/her work to a bookseller, the bookseller would own it in perpetuity. “Property” is defined not as “authorship,” but as “possession.”

10. Copyright Act of 1709 First law to govern copyright; aka “The Statute of Anne.” Creates the notion of “public property”: works could be protected by copyright for 14 years; if the author was still alive at the end of the first 14- yr.-term, copyright could be renewed for another 14 yrs. Works published prior to 1709 were protected for 21 yrs.

11. Copyright Act of 1709, cont. When copyright expires, the work becomes “public property” unless it has been entered in the Stationers’ Register. Problems arise with the entering of works into the Register. Publishers still treat the law as if it protects their interests, not the interests of the author.