Wanderings of a beauty

In Short

Written by Mrs. Edwin James in 1863, this nineteenth-century domestic melodrama follows Evelyn Travers, a breathtaking English beauty whose life is shaped by bad marital choices and missed connections. After marrying a coarse country gentleman who leaves her isolated, Evelyn travels through Europe, pursued by devoted admirers, courted by Italian nobility, and swept into mysterious mesmeric trances. Throughout her wanderings across Florence, Rome, Paris, and New York, she repeatedly misses her chance at true affection with the noble Philip D’Arcy. It has survived as a vivid document of Victorian sentimental fiction and cross-Atlantic high society.

The Story

The narrative begins with the courtship of Evelyn Travers by her good-looking cousin, Captain Travers. Her companion and confidante, Mary Mildmay, watches with misgivings as Evelyn confesses that the captain is by no means her ideal knight. Despite her lack of passion, Evelyn consents to the union after consulting her mother. The wedding takes place on a treacherous, cold day in May. The marriage quickly yields disappointment. Settled at the Abbey in Derbyshire, Evelyn finds herself trapped in a world of hunting squires, vulgar sporting talk, and mundane gossip among matrons. Following the death of her husband’s family connections and under medical advice, Evelyn decides on a prolonged sojourn in Italy, taking her young daughter Ella and securing Mary as her travelling companion.

Before leaving London, Evelyn catches the devotion of Colonel Reginald Melville, a loyal officer. Though she appreciates his deep affection, her lingering habits as a admired coquette lead to misunderstandings. Melville leaves to fight in the Sepoy rebellion in India, sending a painful farewell letter that frees her from any obligation. Shortly after receiving a desperate note written before the storming of Lucknow, Evelyn learns of his heroic death on the battlefield.

Moving through the fashionable circles of Florence, Naples, and Rome, Evelyn draws the attention of the Duke di Balzano, a wealthy and aristocratic Italian who offers her high social standing. Though his devotion is sincere, Evelyn feels little romantic attachment. Meanwhile, she encounters Philip D’Arcy, a man of refined intellect and intense spiritual presence. Evelyn falls deeply in love with D'Arcy, but misunderstandings and sudden obligations intervene. Believing D'Arcy is destined for her daughter Ella, and seeking financial security, Evelyn accepts a proposal from Sir Percy Montgomery, a baronet with whom she enters into a cold and unfulfilling third chapter of her life.

In New York, while staying at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, the truth comes to light. When Sir Percy and D'Arcy meet face to face, a dark past between the two men is exposed, shattering Sir Percy's facade. Though bound by societal laws and past mistakes, Evelyn and D'Arcy share a final, chaste declaration of their eternal soul-union under the moonlight, choosing spiritual devotion over worldly scandal. D'Arcy leaves to take up a command as a General in the Federal Army during the American Civil War, while Evelyn finds peace in her inner faith, enduring her earthly trials with high resolve.

How It Unfolds

The marriage of convenience Evelyn accepts her cousin Captain Travers despite knowing he lacks the qualities of her ideal companion. They marry on a chilly May morning surrounded by family and local school children.

Disillusionment at the Abbey Living in Derbyshire, Evelyn grows weary of her husband's coarse sporting friends who talk endlessly of hunting dogs and horses. She resolves to travel to Italy for her health alongside her friend Mary and daughter Ella.

War and tragic farewells In London, Colonel Reginald Melville leaves for India to help quell the Sepoy rebellion after a painful misunderstanding. Months later, his final letter arrives from the siege of Lucknow shortly before news of his death.

Continental romance and mesmeric visions Travelling through Florence and Rome during Holy Week, Evelyn is courted by the Duke di Balzano while her daughter Ella displays remarkable powers of clairvoyance and mesmeric trances during times of distress.

The shadow of Philip D'Arcy Evelyn meets Philip D'Arcy in Paris and falls profoundly in love with his spiritual nature, yet false assumptions lead her to accept a proposal from Sir Percy Montgomery instead.

Confrontation in New York While living in America, an unexpected meeting between D'Arcy and Sir Percy uncovers old betrayals. Realizing their love cannot be realized on Earth, D'Arcy joins the Union Army while Evelyn embraces a life of spiritual endurance.

The People

• Evelyn Travers: The central figure, a woman of striking physical beauty and musical talent. She desires a love that satisfies her soul and intellect, but her vanity and early reliance on social expectations lead her into unfulfilling marriages. By the novel's end, her heartbreaks transform her into a spiritual convalescent focused on higher truths.
• Mary Mildmay: The narrator of several chapters and Evelyn’s steadfast companion. An unmarried woman past thirty, Mary offers common-sense advice, manages young Ella's care, and observes the tragic missteps of her beautiful friend with deep sympathy.
• Captain Travers: Evelyn’s first husband, an uncomplicated military man obsessed with fox hunting, game birds, and stable talk, whose shallow mind quickly alienates his refined wife.
• Colonel Reginald Melville: A devoted suitor who loves Evelyn unreservedly. Unable to endure her flirtatious behaviors, he departs for the Indian campaign where he dies a hero's death.
• Philip D’Arcy: A man of delicate, spiritual beauty and formidable willpower. He represents Evelyn’s true soulmate, though worldly errors keep them apart physically.
• Ella: Evelyn’s tender daughter, who possesses high sensitivity and acts as an unwitting mesmeric clairvoyante during family crises.
• Sir Percy Montgomery: A baronet who becomes Evelyn's later husband, whose hidden lack of honor is dramatically revealed upon meeting D'Arcy.

In Its Own Voice

“My young lady readers, never marry in May—that reputed most unlucky month for hymeneal ceremonies.” The narrator warns her audience against wedding during an auspiciously chilly spring season.

“The married ladies meanwhile stand around a roaring fire warming their satin-clad feet; they complain to each other of the delinquencies of their servants, or boast of the beauty and precocity of their children.” Evelyn writes to her friend describing the boring routine of domestic life among Derbyshire country society.

“Men must DO great and heroic deeds—and we must ENDURE and SUFFER.” The concluding reflection frames the central struggle between male action in public life and female spiritual endurance.

What It's Really About

The novel critiques the mid-nineteenth-century marriage market, examining how young women are socialized to exchange extraordinary beauty for worldly status rather than genuine compatibility. It contrasts the shallow amusements of high society—hunting talk, formal balls, and title-hunting—with an ideal of spiritual and intellectual romance. Underlying the narrative is a deep fascination with spiritualism, mesmeric trances, and Swedenborgian concepts of eternal soul-mates. The book argues that earthly suffering and flawed choices serve as a necessary forge, purifying human character so that true lovers may achieve a higher union beyond mortal life.

Why Read It Today

This novel offers a captivating glimpse into nineteenth-century popular sentiment, blending the conventions of Victorian sensation fiction with transatlantic travel literature and spiritualist philosophy. Readers interested in period attitudes toward marriage, gender roles, and the supernatural will appreciate its vivid descriptions of high-society life, from Italian religious ceremonies to Victorian drawing rooms.

The narrative does carry the literary hallmarks of its era: melodramatic plot twists, theatrical coincidences, explicit moralizing, and a somewhat elevated, formal prose style. Evelyn's initial vanity and repetitive romantic errors may occasionally test a modern reader's patience. However, the book's genuine warmth, lively secondary vignettes—such as a humorous anecdote involving the composer Gioacchino Rossini—and sincere defense of female emotional autonomy make it a compelling read for fans of forgotten classic fiction.

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