First published in six volumes between 1794 and 1797, Hugh Trevor follows the son of a poor farmer and a clergyman’s daughter as he moves between the workhouse and the drawing room—apprenticed, abandoned, brutalised, rescued and patronised in turn. Brave, curious and hopelessly susceptible to flattery, Hugh trusts the institutions he has been taught to revere—school, Church and the dream of Oxford—and each betrays him in turn. As the gap between the world’s professions and its practices widens, the satire grows steadily darker.
Holcroft drew on his own rise from stable boy and shoemaker to playwright and political radical, writing the novel amid the repression that followed the treason trials of 1794. Yet beneath the biting satire of establishment virtue runs a stubborn faith that human beings can improve, and that institutions may be judged by their conduct rather than their rank.
“This is a novel that refuses to look away,” said L.A. Davenport, editor of the new edition. “Holcroft wrote at a moment of intense political pressure, yet the book remains pacy, often shocking and unapologetically modern in its scepticism towards authority. We’re delighted to bring it back in a complete edition that honours its original form while making it accessible to contemporary readers.”
Volume I presents the opening two volumes of the original text, together with the Preface, Biographical Introduction, Editorial Note and full Introduction to the series. Volumes II and III will follow later in 2027.
Publication details
Title: The Adventures of Hugh Trevor, Volume I
Author: Thomas Holcroft
Edited by: L. A. Davenport
Publisher: P-Wave Press (P-Wave Classics)
Publication date: 19 January 2027
Format: Paperback, 340 pp.; ebook
Price (RRP): £14.99 pbk
ISBN (paperback): 9781916937444
ISBN (ebook): 9781916937451
Availability: p-wavepress.co.uk and all good bookshops
Source: P-Wave Press
Follow the full story here: https://przen.com/pr/33624978
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