It cannot be doubted that all this had its
influence on the author in the construction of her stories, in which a
family party usually supplies the narrow stage, while the interest is
made to revolve round a few actors.
It will be seen also that though her circle of society was small, yet she
found in her neighbourhood persons of good taste and cultivated minds.
Her acquaintance, in fact, constituted the very class from which she took
her imaginary characters, ranging from the member of parliament, or large
landed proprietor, to the young curate or younger midshipman of equally
good family; and I think that the influence of these early associations
may be traced in her writings, especially in two particulars. First,
that she is entirely free from the vulgarity, which is so offensive in
some novels, of dwelling on the outward appendages of wealth or rank, as
if they were things to which the writer was unaccustomed; and, secondly,
that she deals as little with very low as with very high stations in
life. She does not go lower than the Miss Steeles, Mrs. Elton, and John
Thorpe, people of bad taste and underbred manners, such as are actually
found sometimes mingling with better society.
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