From ‘A little bit of ivory’ to ‘Big Bow-wow’: The Silver Fork Novel’s Transformation of British Domestic Realism

This paper explores how the silver fork novel sought to upgrade domestic realism, which had risen in the late eighteenth century and was often regarded as ‘little,’ ‘exquisite,’ and far from Sir Walter Scott’s ‘Big Bow-wow,’ by transferring its stories to a ‘higher social sphere.’ The silver fork novel, a genre that flourished in Britain during the 1820s and 30s and has long since been forgotten, is notorious for its sumptuous depiction of the material life of aristocratic society. The paper argues that the silver fork novel transplants the domestic realism of Jane Austen into higher social circles—such as the titled aristocracy and the political circles—thereby endowing their narratives with a sense of greatness and historical significance. Judging literature by the sense of size is typical: narratives concerning marriage and family are often deemed ‘trivial’ or ‘insignificant’, while those addressing history, politics and war are regarded as ‘great’. As a genre that flourished during the age of the Reform Act, the silver fork novel tried to elevate the stature of domestic realism by imbuing it with political and historical context. Their depictions of the exclusive aristocratic life, however, were deemed another form of triviality and pettiness, and were dismissed as immoral by Victorian novelists for the lack of regard of the vast lower classes. This paper understands the development of domestic realism by exploring the silver fork novel, the missing link between Austen and Dickens, from the perspective of size.