Husband Hunters!!! A Novel. In four volumes.
Author Details
Surname:Beauclerc
First Names:Amelia
Gender:Female
Anonymous:No
Publication Details
Publisher:Printed at the Minerva Press for A.K. Newman and Co. Leadenhall-Street.
Place:London
Date:1816
Novel Details
Genre:Courtship; inheritance/identity; manners/society
Setting:New Forest; cottage; village
Period:contemporary
Plot
Country villagers, John and Margery, take in abandoned child, Madge. In a standard foundling narrative, it is gradually revealed that she is an heiress.
Overview of the Dialect
The first chapter is largely devoted to conversations between John and Margery which are represented in quite heavily marked dialect including fricative voicing (New Forest). p. 2, for example: 'enow', 'don't hear nothing', 'rare vat bacon'. Domestic staff are nonstandard/dialectal. An Irish character has lightly marked dialect.
Speaker #1:John Barnes - Cottager
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Cottager
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - middle aged
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Central
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar, Idiom, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Social Role
Social Role Description:Cottager
Social Role Category:Respectable poor
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:New Forest
Place of Origin Category:New Forest, Hampshire, South East England, England
Extract #1 dialect features: Discourse Marker, Grammar, Idiom, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
He drew forth a small table, upon which he put a coarse cloth; and placing a great loaf upon it, he drew a stool and sat down to supper--
"Well," said she, as she splashed a load of cabbage on his plate, "'tis done enow after all; we mun save some o' this for to-morrow's dinner--we shall be glad o' it after we comes home from meeting.-- What's that a making a noise without?"
" Why 'tis nothing but a horse," said John; "but I don't hear nothing but the rattle of the wind and rain. This here be rare vat bacon, Madge--I bean't afeard now I an't hungry."
"Oh dear, John, but I be frighted," said Madge; "sure as eggs be eggs, I hears veet walking round and round house."
"You don't say so!" rejoined he; "let us get in coal-hole under vaggots --I am hungered again wi' thoughts on't. "
(Vol. 1,p. 2-3)"Well," said she, as she splashed a load of cabbage on his plate, "'tis done enow after all; we mun save some o' this for to-morrow's dinner--we shall be glad o' it after we comes home from meeting.-- What's that a making a noise without?"
" Why 'tis nothing but a horse," said John; "but I don't hear nothing but the rattle of the wind and rain. This here be rare vat bacon, Madge--I bean't afeard now I an't hungry."
"Oh dear, John, but I be frighted," said Madge; "sure as eggs be eggs, I hears veet walking round and round house."
"You don't say so!" rejoined he; "let us get in coal-hole under vaggots --I am hungered again wi' thoughts on't. "
Speaker #2:Margery Barnes - Cottager - later domestic staff
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Cottager
Gender:Female
Age:Adult - middle aged
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Central
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Grammar, Idiom, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Social Role
Social Role Description:Cottager - later domestic staff
Social Role Category:Respectable poor
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:New Forest
Place of Origin Category:New Forest, Hampshire, South East England, England
Extract #1 dialect features: Discourse Marker, Grammar, Idiom, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
He drew forth a small table, upon which he put a coarse cloth; and placing a great loaf upon it, he drew a stool and sat down to supper--
"Well," said she, as she splashed a load of cabbage on his plate, "'tis done enow after all; we mun save some o' this for to-morrow's dinner--we shall be glad o' it after we comes home from meeting.-- What's that a making a noise without?"
" Why 'tis nothing but a horse," said John; "but I don't hear nothing but the rattle of the wind and rain. This here be rare vat bacon, Madge--I bean't afeard now I an't hungry."
"Oh dear, John, but I be frighted," said Madge; "sure as eggs be eggs, I hears veet walking round and round house."
"You don't say so!" rejoined he; "let us get in coal-hole under vaggots --I am hungered again wi' thoughts on't. "
(Vol. 1,p. 2-3)"Well," said she, as she splashed a load of cabbage on his plate, "'tis done enow after all; we mun save some o' this for to-morrow's dinner--we shall be glad o' it after we comes home from meeting.-- What's that a making a noise without?"
" Why 'tis nothing but a horse," said John; "but I don't hear nothing but the rattle of the wind and rain. This here be rare vat bacon, Madge--I bean't afeard now I an't hungry."
"Oh dear, John, but I be frighted," said Madge; "sure as eggs be eggs, I hears veet walking round and round house."
"You don't say so!" rejoined he; "let us get in coal-hole under vaggots --I am hungered again wi' thoughts on't. "
Extract #2 dialect features: Grammar, Idiom, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Speakers: All , Margery Barnes
"Ma'am," she cried, "I demands them there two low-lifed servants in our kitchen to be turned off ; they don't shew me no more manners nor if I were their fellows; so if you upholds they against me, I gut a warm home to go to, and ave no cassion to sarve nobody, not I; I've travelled and seed the world, and knows my place, and won't be put upon by nobody , skin me if I shall!"
(Vol. 2,p. 37)Speaker #3:Mrs Bilson - Domestic
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Mrs Bilson
Gender:Female
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Orthographical Respelling
Social Role
Social Role Description:Domestic
Social Role Category:Servant
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:New Forest
Place of Origin Category:New Forest, Hampshire, South East England, England
Speakers: All , Mrs Bilson
"Humph! " said Mrs. Bilson, " wery like a vhale! you carry it off well, my dear."
(Vol. 1,p. 144)Speaker #4:Old man - Domestic
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Old man
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - elderly
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Grammar, Idiom, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
Social Role
Social Role Description:Domestic
Social Role Category:Servant
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:Between Denbigh and Wrexham
Place of Origin Category:Wrexham, North Wales, Wales
Extract #1 dialect features: Grammar, Idiom, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling, Vocabulary
"Who lives here?" cried Henry.
"Nobody but wife and I, an please you." said the man, civilly.
"Who does it belong to, my good friend?" added Henry.
" Master been dead seven years ; and the young ones wont abide the old home. Some on um be gone to the wars; they don't tell me for why. But somehow master meaned to do it up, as you may see; but there it all stopped at once, long afore master died, and nothing was never finished , as you may warrant."
(Vol. 2,p. 147-8)"Nobody but wife and I, an please you." said the man, civilly.
"Who does it belong to, my good friend?" added Henry.
" Master been dead seven years ; and the young ones wont abide the old home. Some on um be gone to the wars; they don't tell me for why. But somehow master meaned to do it up, as you may see; but there it all stopped at once, long afore master died, and nothing was never finished , as you may warrant."
Speaker #5:Bryant - Servant
Individual or Group:Individual
Primary Identity:Bryant
Gender:Male
Age:Adult - unspecified age
Narrative Voice:3rd person
Role:Peripheral
Dialect Features:Discourse Marker, Idiom, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling
Social Role
Social Role Description:Servant
Social Role Category:Servant
Speaker's Origin
Place of Origin Description:Ireland
Place of Origin Category:Ireland
Extract #1 dialect features: Discourse Marker, Idiom, Orthographical Contraction, Orthographical Respelling
"Where's the master all the while?-- devil a fut could I stir from the countess, why --all along of waiting for the master! bekays , why , I was lift in charge of her as her interpretator ; so I'll engage I did the thing gentalay ! for niver trust me but she had a brickfast fit for an Irish lady! and why shouldn't she? so I bid the landlord to do it out illigantly
(Vol. 3,p. 21)