About Peacock
Both novelist and poet, Thomas Love Peacock is best known for comic 'novels of talk' in which he satirised the intellectual fads and trends of his day. The stereotypical Peacock novel involves a bunch of would-be philosophers, scholars and artists gathering at a country house and deliberating everything under the sun. For example, the cast of his first novel, Headlong Hall, includes Mr Foster the optimist and Mr Escot the pessimist, Mr Mac Laurel the romantic poet, the book reviewers Mr Gall and Mr Treacle, Mr Milestone the picturesque gardener and Mr Cranium the craniologist.
Peacock's characters talk so much that sometimes the author abandons narrative entirely and renders the proceedings in script format. Headlong Hall and Crotchet Castle best represent this type of novel.
Peacock also wrote more straight, if still humorous, romances, of which Maid Marian was highly popular. Much of his best verse is in the form of songs incorporated within the action of his novels.
Although Peacock's novels are perhaps not widely read today, they have much to offer readers who appreciate intelligent wit.
- Reading Room
- Select bibliography of Peacock's writings, with links to texts available online.
- General Links
- Other online resources about the novelist.