| The book that Amy used for her journal was Lucile by Owen Meredith, first published in 1860. Lucile is a novel length narrative poem written in anapestic meter. It tells the story of Lucile, who is loved by two fierce rivals, an English Lord and a French Duke. Owen Meredith was the pseudonym of Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, the first Earl of Lytton. He was the son of the novelist, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton. After publication, it was discovered that Lucile was partially based on the George Sand novella, Lavinia, which was written in 1831. In later editions of Lucile, Owen Meredith addressed the accusations of plagiarism. Although Lucile was first published in England, it was much more popular in the United States. Between 1860 and 1938, over 80 American publishers produced more than 2000 editions. It was during this period that the concept of the gift book was born. For forty years, Lucile was a standard gift book, often published with stunning bindings and lavish illustrations. Sid Huttner, Head of Special Collections at the University of Iowa Libraries, has done exensive research on Lucile. His work can be found at The Lucile Project. Previous page | | |
