The Heroine

In 1813, Eaton Stannard Barrett wrote a savage parody of Gothic novels and discovered something enduring about the human hunger for drama. Cherry Wilkinson, a farmer's daughter, has read one too many romances. When she discovers a mysterious parchment and an old portrait hidden in her father's desk, she becomes absolutely convinced she is a long-lost heiress and that her dear old dad is actually an assassin plotting her death. She renames herself Cherubina and flees into the world on a hilariously misguided quest to claim her birthright. Along comes a dissolute young actor who learns of her father's wealth and her mania for Gothic novels. He poses as the noble Lord Montmorenci, hoping to trap her in a false marriage. What follows is a comic battle of wits as Cherubina's absurd heroics meet the cold realities of English law and society. Barrett's satire is razor-sharp, yet it captures something genuine: the tragedy of a girl whose imagination has been ruined by books. Two centuries later, The Heroine still resonates because we've all, at some point, wanted our lives to read like fiction.