The History of Emily Montague

The History of Emily Montague opens three years after the conclusion of the Seven Years' War, with letters spanning from April 1766 to November 1767. This epistolary novel, primarily written from the perspectives of Colonel Edward Rivers, a British officer seeking a future in the newly acquired Canadian colony, and Arabella Fermor, the witty friend of Emily Montague, offers readers a unique blend of romance, historical context, and intellectual trends. While the love story follows traditional themes-financial struggles, marital misunderstandings, and eventual resolutions-Brooke's novel stands out for its incorporation of various literary movements from the 18th century.

Brooke, whose work bridges the Augustan Age and the Age of Sensibility, combines sentimental fiction, pre-Romanticism, and even early feminist ideas in this rich narrative. The History of Emily Montague engages with the sublime and picturesque, offering an early exploration of the picturesque landscape of Canada. The Canadian wilderness, depicted as both Edenic and gothic, plays a pivotal role, almost becoming a character itself, influencing the emotional and physical experiences of the protagonists. This unique depiction of Canadian colonial life sets Brooke's novel apart from other works of sentimental fiction, as it presents realistic details about life in Quebec, highlighting both personal relationships and broader nationhood concerns.

What further distinguishes the novel is Brooke's protofeminist critique of social norms. Like other early feminist authors such as Aphra Behn and Mary Wollstonecraft, Brooke questions arranged marriages and societal expectations of women, positioning her novel as a bridge between traditional courtship tales and the more progressive feminist literature that would later emerge, such as the works of Jane Austen. This makes the novel not only a significant epistolary romance but also an important feminist text.