Alfred; or, The Adventures of a French Gentleman

About this issue

By George W.M. Reynolds, this serial chronicles the fortunes of French émigrés during the Revolutionary period. The narrative opens in 1793 as Monsieur and Madame d'Estelle—aristocratic refugees of high rank—arrive in London with their infant daughter Eloise, fleeing persecution. After Madame d'Estelle's death from a prolonged fever, her daughter is taken into the care of Mr. Clayton, a respected London surgeon, and his family. Clayton's younger son Henry develops particular affection for Eloise. When d'Estelle learns of improving political circumstances in France, he departs to recover his substantial confiscated property, leaving his child with Clayton. His subsequent letters report success, then betrayal by a political relative, and finally his disappearance amid renewed Parisian violence. The narrative traces Eloise's upbringing in England while her fate remains uncertain, establishing a sentimental plot of separated family members and inherited mystery.