Project Gutenberg 2025-04-23 Public domain in the USA. 265 Peacock, Thomas Love 1785 1866 Peacock, T. Love (Thomas Love) Peacock, T. L. (Thomas Love) Saintsbury, George 1845 1933 Saintsbury, George Edward Bateman Townsend, F. H. (Frederick Henry) 1868 1920 Townsend, Frederick Henry Townsend, F.H. 07033747 Melincourt : $b or, Sir Oran Haut-Ton $aLondon :$bMacmillan and Co., $c1896. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melincourt_(novel) Richard Tonsing, Tim Lindell, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) "Melincourt: or, Sir Oran Haut-Ton" by Thomas Love Peacock is a satirical novel written in the early 19th century. The story appears to focus on the adventures and social situations surrounding the young heiress Anthelia Melincourt, as well as the philosophical and political commentaries delivered through an eccentric cast, including the enigmatic Sir Oran Haut-Ton—an orangutan presented as the “natural man.” The novel blends romantic intrigue and comedic elements with sharp criticism of social customs, politics, and contemporary intellectual debates, often caricaturing prominent public figures and issues such as political corruption and the abolition of slavery. Peacock’s work is known for its witty dialogue, biting irony, and its playful approach to the conventions of both the novel and society. The opening of the book, including its introduction and the first chapters, sets the stage by introducing Anthelia Melincourt—wealthy, orphaned, and independent—living secluded in a grand, half-ruined castle amid the wilds of Westmoreland. She is pursued by various fortune-hunting suitors, with comic attention given to the superficiality and scheming of fashionable society. Early scenes emphasize Anthelia’s romantic idealism, her education amidst nature, and her skeptical view of marriage based solely on status or wealth. The narrative then shifts to a cast of eccentric and often satirical characters: Sir Telegraph Paxarett, the worldly bachelor; Sylvan Forester, the philosophical reformer; the taciturn “natural man” Sir Oran Haut-Ton, and various others representing types of social and ideological affectation. Through lively dinner conversations and comedic social clashes—often centering on earnest, if quixotic, ideas about moral reform or the rights of man—Peacock begins to weave his critiques of society, politics, philosophy, and human nature, setting up a narrative driven as much by spirited debate as by plot. (This is an automatically generated summary.) https://archive.org/details/melincourtorsiro00peacuoft/page/n9/mode/2up 20210604042307peacock 1896 GB Reading ease score: 64.1 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Satire English fiction -- 19th century Orangutans -- Fiction PR Text Category: Humour Category: Novels Category: British Literature 740410 2025-06-30T05:44:48.076891 text/html 708951 2025-04-23T10:20:05 text/html 6141690 2025-06-30T05:45:01.781818 application/epub+zip 6140887 2025-06-30T05:44:51.188871 application/epub+zip 512274 2025-06-30T05:44:49.424892 application/epub+zip 6952287 2025-06-30T05:45:08.779740 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 6895319 2025-06-30T05:45:00.318830 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 607971 2025-06-30T05:44:46.060863 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 587993 2025-04-23T10:20:05 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18815 2025-06-30T05:45:08.946738 application/rdf+xml 25992 2025-06-30T05:44:49.815828 image/jpeg 2744 2025-06-30T05:44:49.618827 image/jpeg 7262592 2025-06-30T05:44:48.251849 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia en.wikipedia