Man of Feeling.

Tan leather binding with red title plate, gilt banding and lettering on the spine.

The Man of Feeling is a sentimental novel published in 1771, written by Scottish author Henry Mackenzie. The novel presents a series of moral vignettes which the naïve protagonist Harley either observes, is told about, or participates in. This novel is often seen to contain elements of the Romantic novel, which became prolific in the years following its publishing. The Man of Feeling, Mackenzie's first and most famous novel, was begun in London in 1767. It was published in April 1771, sold out by the beginning of June, and reached its sixth edition by 1791. Mackenzie wrote The Man of Feeling in the latter half of the eighteenth century, by the end of which the concept of sentimentalism had steadily become merely laughable and entertaining. An 'Index to Tears', which was first included in the 1886 edition of The Man of Feeling edited by Professor Henry Morley, indicates how the "repertory of sentimental effects...has become a repertory of mirthful effects, perhaps to be read aloud in the Victorian parlour to an audience only needing to hear these categories of tears in order to trigger a rather different physical response." Whilst in the reaction to sentimentalism authors and readers alike satirised or humiliated characters with an excess of emotion, there remained those who supported elements of the genre. According to theorist Hugh Blair, the man of feeling "lives in a different sort of world from what the selfish man inhabits. He possesses a new sense, which enables him to behold objects which the selfish man cannot see". Mackenzie experienced difficulty in getting The Man of Feeling published, until he finally managed to have it published anonymously. A priest by the name of Eccles made an attempt to claim authorship, supported by "a manuscript full of changes and erasures" in his possession. The Man of Feeling details the fragmentary episodes of the life of Harley which exist within the remains of a manuscript traded to the initial narrator of the novel by a priest. The novel itself begins with these two latter figures hunting, whereas the manuscript is missing the first ten chapters and approximately thirty others at various locations throughout the manuscript's entirety. As a young boy, Harley loses his parents and is assigned several guardians who constantly disagree with each other. They do however agree that he should make an effort to acquire more wealth, and so they urge him to make an old distant relative amiable towards him to claim some inheritance. Harley fails in this endeavour, as he doesn't cooperate with the relative's attempts to warm to him. Harley is then advised to acquire a patron; to sell his vote at an election for a lease of land. His neighbour Mr. Walton gives him a letter of introduction, and he leaves home (and Miss Walton) for London. He meets a beggar and his dog on the way, and after donating to them, hears the fortune-telling beggar's story. In the following (missing) chapters, Harley formally visits the baronet Mr. Walton recommended him to, because when the narrative continues, Harley is calling on him for the second time. The baronet however is away from London, and Harley meets another gentleman named Tom. They go for a stroll and then dine together, discussing pensions and resources with two older men. Harley proceeds to visit Bedlam, and weeps for an inmate there, before dining with a scorned, cynical man and together they discuss honour and vanity. He then demonstrates his skill (or, as many argue, his lack of skill) in physiognomy by being charitable on behalf of an old gentleman, with whom Harley later plays cards. After losing money to them, Harley is informed the gentleman and his acquaintance are con men. Approached by a prostitute, Harley takes her to a tavern and feeds her, despite having to hand the waiter his pocket watch as collateral for paying the bill, and then meets again with her the next morning to hear her story. At its conclusion her father arrives, and after a misunderstanding is reconciled with his daughter. Upon discovering that his claim for the land lease has failed, Harley takes a stage-coach back home, discussing poetry and vice with a fellow passenger until they part ways and the coach reaches the end of its route. Harley continues on foot, and along the way meets Edwards, an old farmer from his village who has fallen on hard times and is returning from his conscription in the army. Together they approach the village, to find the schoolhouse destroyed, and two orphans who are actually the grandchildren of Harley's companion. Harley takes the three of them home and provides some land for them. After discussing corrupt military commanders with Edwards, Harley is informed to his dismay that Miss Walton is going to be married to Sir Harry Benson. The Man of Feeling then jumps to an unconnected tale of a man named Mountford, who journeys to Milan as tutor to the young Sedley, where they meet with a count. They visit a debtors' prison to find a man and his family living there at the behest of the count's son, a man who had been so charming to the two gentlemen. Sedley pays the family's debt, and then Mountford and Sedley leave Milan in disgust. Jamie is then renowned as the 'Man of Feeling' and is distressed to find that his entry is no longer there. The narrative returns to the story of Harley. Miss Walton has not married Benson. She visits an unwell Harley (who has contracted a fever nursing Edwards and his grandchildren), who confesses his love to her. They hold hands and he dies. Typical of sentimental fiction, The Man of Feeling is fragmented; chapters and passages are missing, although this is contrived, as the narrative is still comprehensible. Mackenzie highlights these absences, by implying the contents of the non-existent chapters, by chapter numbering (indicating gaps) or through the sudden introduction of characters: "Peter stood at the door. We have mentioned this faithful fellow formerly". The fragmentary nature of the text narrates "the sensibility that is inevitably expressed in moments." It allows for elisions and hiatuses, so that content not evoking the sentimental can be excluded from the text entirely. The transient nature of manuscript itself is further alluded to in the Introduction; the manuscript depicting Harley's life is being used as wadding for the curate's gun. Harley's aunt also employs a book to help fold her linen. Henry Mackenzie FRSE (August 1745 – 14 January 1831, born and died in Edinburgh) was a Scottish lawyer, novelist and writer, sometimes seen as the Addison of the North. While remembered mostly as an author, his main income came from legal roles, which led in 1804–1831 to a lucrative post as Comptroller of Taxes for Scotland, whose possession allowing him to follow his interest in writing. In 1765 he was sent to London for his legal studies, and on his return to Edinburgh he set up his own legal office at Cowgatehead off the Grassmarket, apparently as a partner with Inglis (but appearing in directories more as a rival), while he concurrently acted as attorney for the Crown. Mackenzie had tried for several years to interest publishers in what would become his first and most famous work, The Man of Feeling, but they rejected it. Finally, Mackenzie published it anonymously in 1771, but to instant success. The "Man of Feeling" is a weak creature, dominated by futile benevolence, who goes up to London and falls into the hands of those who exploit his innocence. The sentimental key in the book shows the author's acquaintance with Sterne and Richardson, but in Sir Walter Scott's summary assessment, his work lacked the story construction, humour and character of those writers. Thomas Cadell (1742–1802), often referred to as Thomas Cadell the elder, was a successful 18th-century English bookseller who published works by some of the most famous writers of the 18th century. The business was continued by his son, Thomas Cadell (1773–1836), often referred to as Thomas Cadell the younger, who went into business with William Davies as Cadell & Davies until Davies death in 1819. Cadell continued in business until his own death in 1836. Thomas Cadell was born in Bristol to William and Mary Cadell and baptized on 12 November 1742. On 7 March 1758, Cadell's father apprenticed him for a fee of £105 to London bookseller and publisher Andrew Millar. Cadell became Millar's partner in April 1765, having just finished his seven-year apprenticeship, and took over the business with the help of Millar's assistant, Robert Lawless, upon Millar's death in 1768. Now a successful bookseller, Cadell married the daughter of Reverend Thomas Jones on 1 April 1769. Cadell ran his business out of 141 Strand for over 25 years, sometimes partnering with William Strahan and later Andrew Strahan. He published works by notable authors, whom he paid well. For example, Cadell and Strahan published Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776–88), Henry Mackenzie's The Man of Feeling (1771) and the poetry of Robert Burns. Cadell wrote to Gibbon in 1787: "I had rather risk my fortune with a few such Authors as Mr Gibbon, Dr Robertson, D Hume … than be the publisher of a hundred insipid publications". He also published works by the jurist William Blackstone, the philosopher David Hume, the author and critic Samuel Johnson, the philosopher and economist Adam Smith, the novelist Tobias Smollett, the novelist Frances Burney, the historian Catharine Macaulay, and the moralist Hannah More. He also published the novels of Charlotte Smith until her works became too radical, refusing to publish Desmond in 1792. Cadell had a strong relationship with Samuel Johnson. Cadell was part of the group of booksellers who convinced the famous critic to write Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1779–81). He also published Johnson's political tracts of the 1770s and, together with Strahan, his A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (1775). After Johnson died, Cadell published Hester Thrale Piozzi's Letters and Anecdotes about Johnson. Cadell was well liked by other booksellers and he helped establish the booksellers' dining club which met each month at the Shakespeare tavern in Wych Street. Together, they prosecuted infringements on their copyrights from Scottish and Irish printers. In January 1786, Cadell's wife died. The couple had two children. His daughter married Dr. Charles Lucas Eldridge, chaplain to George III. His son, Thomas Cadell the younger, took over the family business when his father retired in 1793. After his retirement, Cadell served on the boards of several philanthropic institutions, such as the Foundling Hospital. In March 1798, he was elected alderman of Walbrook and served as sheriff from 1800 to 1801. He was also master of the Stationers' Company from 1798 to 1799 and stock-keeper in 1800. Cadell died at his home on 27 December 1802 from an asthma attack