A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Dacre, Lady
DACRE, LADY,
Is English by birth, and in 1833, published a series of tales, written with taste, feeling, and passion, which were favourably received by the public. Another work of hers, "Trevelyan," a novel of considerable interest, appeared the following year, though by no means justifying the comparison which a leading British journal made between it and Miss Edgeworth's "Vivian." The best work of Lady Dacre is "Recollections of a Chaperone," containing several stories. Dr. Johnson has been often quoted for his saying, that it is a wonderful effort of mind to frame a good plot, even if it be indifferently filled up. The first of these stories has certainly surmounted this difficulty; the plot of "Ellen Wareham" is strikingly interesting; it has been dramatized with a success that some of our best novels have failed to obtain, when thus prepared for the stage, because their merit was of the sort that did not admit condensation. The other "Recollections" are interesting stories; the second has some admirable scenes of common life, describing the ludicrous pathos of high-flown romance, when "love in a cottage" has to descend to the common cares of cookery and children. We must not omit to notice that "Ellen Wareham" has, most unjustifiably, been taken from its rightful author, and brought out in America with the name of the late "Ellen Pickering," who being favourably distinguished by her own numerous and popular works, does not need to borrow reputation from the very different pen of Lady Dacre.