Hannah More (1745-1833) had been a celebrated author for many years before publishing her only novel

in 1808. She began her literary career as a young playwright under the tutelage of David Garrick, wrote numerous verses, then, in coming to embrace the Evangelical Christianity that would define the latter half of her life and work, turned to moral treatises and tracts written for every class of late-eighteenth century English society. It was in this latter body of work, specifically the stories and tales of the Cheap Repository Tracts (1795-1798), written for the newly literate laboring classes, that More found a model for the novel she would publish a decade later. This model is one that combines entertainment and instruction, a formula that More had pioneered…

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Citation: Prior, Karen Swallow. "Coelebs in Search of a Wife". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 August 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23714, accessed 26 November 2024.]