Susan Ferrier was a Scottish novelist whose writing combined vivid depictions of Scottish life with humour, morality and a sharp satirical edge.
Her novels were popular throughout the nineteenth century but gradually fell out of favour in the twentieth century. In 2017, Scottish author Val McDermid praised Ferrier as Scotland’s Jane Austen but despite this, her novels have received relatively little critical attention.
The ninth of ten surviving children, Ferrier was born in 1782 in Edinburgh, probably at Lady Stair’s Close, before the family relocated to George Street. Ferrier wrote three novels, each of which — like Austen’s novels — was published anonymously at first.
Ferrier’s ascending star can be seen from the amounts offered to her for the publication of each book: £150 for the first, ‘Marriage’ in 1815; £1,000 for ‘The Inheritance’ in 1824; and £1,700 for ‘Destiny’ in 1831.
Ferrier’s debut undermines the conventional happy-ever-after ending convention by beginning with a marriage, in this case between an English heiress and the son of a Scottish laird. ‘The Inheritance’ tells of another young heiress, this time arriving at a Scottish estate only to be faced with a cast of eccentric characters and a mysterious secret.
In ‘Destiny’, a Highland laird refuses to face reality no matter the consequences. This last book was dedicated to Sir Walter Scott, a personal friend and writer who shared Ferrier’s interest in writing about Scottish life. Ferrier’s novels were reissued several times throughout the nineteenth century and a book-length memoir and correspondence was published in 1898.
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