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At the Circulating Library

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837–1901

Title: A Husband of No Importance

Author and Title: Eliza Margaret von Booth. A Husband of No Importance

First Edition: London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1894. 1 volume, post 8vo., 2s.

Summary: Volume 45 in the Pseudonym Library. Mrs. Hex Rashleigh is a fashionable New Woman novelist and journalist who advocates women's rights while neglecting her husband. (Without venom, the couple live parallel lives.) At a party, she meets an Irish actor Blake Beverley who remarks her advanced views. His introduction to London society gains him the unwanted attentions of Mrs. Loosely, a married lion-hunter. Without his wife's knowledge, Mr. Rashleigh ("a husband of no importance" to his wife) has written a play featuring a New Woman character to be produced starring Beverley. Mrs. Hex Rashleigh attends opening night and recognizes herself in the depiction of the play's central character. She takes the play's theme to heart and reconciles with her husband at the end of the novel. (TJB)

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References: BL; EC

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