📖 About This Book · Ovington's Bank - by Stanley J. Weyman
First published in London in 1922 by John Murray
Setting: Aldersbury, 1825 – the speculative mania before the financial panic.
Key Themes: class and social mobility · financial speculation · integrity vs. ambition · love and sacrifice.
Major Characters: Arthur Bourdillon (ambitious, charming) · Clement Ovington (honest, nature-loving) · Josina Griffin (the Squire's daughter) · Squire Griffin (proud, blind) · Charles Ovington (self-made banker) · Rodd (loyal cashier).
Plot Arc: The novel follows the rise and fall of a speculative bank, interwoven with a romantic plot. Arthur's ambition leads him to fraud; Clement's honesty redeems him; the Squire's pride is humbled; love triumphs over prejudice.
Summary
- The Squire, having closed his account at Ovington's Bank, attends the magistrates' meeting (the Bench). The Justices of the period bore a heavy burden—they had to take the initiative in detection and punishment, representing the executive as well as the judiciary.
- Acherley confronts the Squire about the railroad, accusing him of being "d——d unpopular." The Squire warns the Board that the scheme will end in disaster, another South Sea Bubble. He argues that gentlemen cannot be both administrators and money-changers.
- The Squire withdraws his £476 in gold, ignoring Ovington's courtesy. He leaves the gold with Purslow the draper while he attends the Bench.
- After the meeting, Thomas, his groom, is late and has been orating to men in the street. The Squire curses him. He retrieves the gold from Purslow dismissing the latter's apprehension about a gold transport in the night.
Analysis
- The Justices' Burden: The paragraph on the Justices highlights the Squire's role in the old order. He is not just a landowner; he is a representative of the state. His position gives him power—and makes him a target.
- The Squire's Warning: His prediction of disaster is prophetic. He is the voice of caution in a world gone mad with speculation.
- Thomas's Attack: The robbery is a symbolic act of class violence. The servant attacks the master, reflecting the tensions beneath the surface of the old order.
- Clement's Heroism: For the first time, Clement acts decisively. He is no longer the passive dreamer; he is a man of action.
Spencer Perceval (1762–1812) was the only British Prime Minister to be assassinated. Lord Castlereagh (1769–1822) was a prominent Tory politician who committed suicide. Lord Liverpool (1770–1828) was Prime Minister from 1812 to 1827. Henry Fauntleroy (1765–1824) was a banker executed for forgery.
These names represent the turbulence of the period—political violence, suicide, and financial scandal. The Squire's reference to them shows his awareness of the dangers facing the ruling class.
A "tie-wig" was a formal wig worn by gentlemen in the 18th century. By the 1820s, it was old-fashioned, a political symbol of the old aristocracy before the French Revolution.
King Solomon was the biblical king renowned for his legendary wisdom.
The South Sea Bubble was a financial crash in 1720, when the South Sea Company's stock collapsed, ruining thousands of investors.
The Squire warns that the railroad scheme will end in a similar disaster. His comparison is prophetic: the 1825 panic will indeed be compared to the South Sea Bubble.
Thomas Telford (1757–1834) was a famous civil engineer who built roads (including the Holyhead Road), bridges, and canals. His roads were the best of their time.
The "Wonder" coach was a famous fast coach that did the journey from London to Aldersbury in 15 hours.
It ran from London to Holyhead on the Holyhead Road. In 1825 it would have been a fairly new venture.
"Caterwauling" means making a shrill, discordant noise—like a cat in heat. It is a contemptuous term for bad music.
The phrase describes a one-legged sailor playing a battered fiddle outside a tavern.
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