The Natural Daughter with Portraits of the Leadenhead Family is a novel by the English poet, dramatist and novelist Mary Robinson, published in 1799 by T. N. Longman and O. Rees in Paternoster Row in London. The novel was originally published as two volumes; a thousand copies were printed for the first edition of the novel. All the copies sold out quickly, leading to the book's second publication in the same year. This romantic prose narrative is often thought to be Robinson's commentary on the French Revolution and the ideals of the English woman, due to the various characters influenced by France and the members of the revolution who appear in the novel.
Plot
Robinson's narrative begins with the Bradford family travelling to Bath for the sake of its healing waters. The Bradfords are a mixed bunch in terms of personality and beliefs. Peregrine Bradford, his wife and two daughters, Martha and Julia, are members of the middle-class who have recently built their fortune, however, they do not have official titles to secure their place among high society. Mr Bradford believes that his wealth will buy everything he desires when he says, “gold will buy everything; and who knows but I may soon die and leave a title?” The idea that money can buy happiness is a consistent theme throughout the novel. The main character, Martha (Bradford) Morley, continually seeks to dispute this idea by showing compassion towards others and straying from the path that will lead her to upper-class society. Martha is portrayed as a more masculine woman who takes action, while her sister Julia is passive and full of sensibility, i.e. an emotional delicacy and extreme feeling.
Martha's marriage to Mr Morley goes against the less submissive identity that she is described as possessing. Early in the novel, Martha is described as, “giddy, wild, buxom, good-natured, and bluntly sincere tenor of her conversation” and “a mere masculine hoyden.” Martha is willing to submit to marriage for the sake of her father, but the marriage is not happy. Mr Morley is described as, “one of those prejudiced mortals who consider women as beings created for the conveniences of domestic life”. Not long into the marriage, Mr Morley leaves on business, which meant his estate was left to be run by Martha. On her own, Martha gets to know the locals in the village outside the estate. On one of her excursions, she discovers a highborn lady and her newborn illegitimate child. Martha offers to assist the young mother but is suddenly struck ill and cannot go to the village herself, so in her place, she sends a servant named Mrs Grimwood. Mrs Grimwood's discovery of the child and its connection to Martha lead her to create false rumours which are spread as the chapter ends. The narrator foreshadows the worst for Martha by saying, “little foreseeing that her steps would lead to a labyrinth of adventures”
Martha's decision to care for the illegitimate child, whom she calls Frances or Fanny, instigates a scandalous rumour that Martha is the real mother of the child. Her husband, Mr Morley, goes as far as placing her out of doors where she has to fend for herself. Without the means to support herself, Fanny is placed in the care of Lord Francis Sherville, whom Martha assumes is Fanny's father. At the same time, Martha's sister Julia is beginning to step beyond the bounds of the ideal English woman's sensibility. As a woman who has been introduced to higher society, Julia is influenced by her peers and the raging French Revolution. Under this influence, Julia takes a number of lovers including Mr Morley, Sir Lionel Beacon, and the notorious Robespierre. She eventually marries Gregory Leadenhead despite her reputation as a loose woman. The two or soon divorced after her affair with Mr Morley.
The Leadenhead family is a rambunctious cast of characters who have risen to high society through new money. However, their middle-class background prevents them from fully entering the world of the upper-class. Many members of the upper-class, such as Sir Lionel Beacon and Lady Penelope Pryer, come from old, inherited money that has never had to be earned. Their old-money background also provides them with titles of honour such as "Sir" and "Lady." The Leadenheads lack a title so they decide to send their son into the army in order to earn a title of military prestige. Gregory Leadenhead eventually marries and divorces Julia Bradford due to her unwomanly behaviour.