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Amelia
Amelia, a novel by H. Fielding, published 1752 (for 1751).
Set in and against a London of almost unrelieved squalor, corruption, and violence, the novel opens in the court of the ‘trading Justice’, Justice Thrasher, who has the innocent, penniless Captain Billy Booth thrown into Newgate. The filth and brutality of the prison provides a sombre background against which his wife Amelia's virtue shines. In prison Booth meets an old acquaintance, Miss Matthews, a courtesan who has the means to buy a clean cell and who invites Booth to share it with her. Although filled with remorse, he does so, and they exchange their stories. Booth describes his runaway marriage (in which he was assisted by the good parson Dr Harrison), his happiness with Amelia, their lives in the country, his soldiering, and Amelia's arrival in France when he was ill. There they had lived with the huge, pugnacious Colonel Bath and his sister, who had since married a Colonel James. James now bails out Booth, and takes Miss Matthews as his mistress. Booth begins a life of gambling. Amelia's life is one of poverty and distress. In the background is the kindly Dr Harrison. ‘My Lord’, a flamboyant and menacing character who is never given a name, begins with Colonel James to lay plans to ensnare Amelia. The Booths' friendly landlady, Mrs Ellison (who is, unknown to Amelia, a cousin of My Lord's and his procuress), arranges for Amelia to be attended at an oratorio by My Lord in disguise, and then introduces him as her cousin. My Lord becomes extremely agreeable and offers to acquire a command for Booth. Amelia then receives an invitation to a masquerade, but is sharply warned by a fellow- lodger, the learned widow Mrs Bennet (who had been seduced by My Lord after such an invitation), and she does not go. After various other dangers and complications, Dr Harrison arrives, eventually pays off Booth's debts, and arranges for him to return to the farming life he loved. Amelia discovers that she is heiress to her mother's fortune and the Booths retire to a happy and prosperous country life. The book sold well, but was attacked by many, led by Richardson and Smollett, and Fielding made alterations in later editions. |
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Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Amelia." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Amelia." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Amelia.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Amelia." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-Amelia.html |
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Amelia
Amelia ♀ A blend of two medieval names: Emilia (which is of Latin origin: see Emily) and the Latinized Germanic Amalia. Henry Fielding is sometimes credited with having coined it for the heroine of his novel Amelia (1751), but forms such as Meelia, Amaly and Aemelia occur from the 17th century onwards.
variants: Emelia, Emilia. |
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Cite this article
PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Amelia." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Amelia." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Amelia.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Amelia." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Amelia.html |
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amelia
amelia (ă-mee-liă) n. congenital total absence of the arms or legs due to a developmental defect. It is one of the fetal abnormalities induced by the drug thalidomide taken early in pregnancy. See also phocomelia.
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"amelia." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "amelia." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-amelia.html "amelia." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-amelia.html |
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Amelia
Amelia, Virginia/USA Named after Princess Amelia (d. 1786), the second daughter of King George II†.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Amelia." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Amelia." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Amelia.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Amelia." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Amelia.html |
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Amelia
Amelia
•myalgia, nostalgia
•sporangia
•florilegia, quadriplegia
•Phrygia • Thuringia • loggia • Borgia
•apologia, eulogia
•Perugia
•Czechoslovakia, Slovakia
•Saskia
•clarkia, souvlakia
•rudbeckia
•fakir, Wallachia
•Ischia
•Antalya, espalier, pallia, rallier
•shilly-shallyer • Somalia
•hotelier, Montpellier, sommelier, St Helier
•Australia, azalea, bacchanalia, Castalia, dahlia, echolalia, genitalia, inter alia, Lupercalia, Mahalia, marginalia, paraphernalia, regalia, Saturnalia, Thalia, Westphalia
•Amelia, camellia, Celia, Cordelia, Cornelia, Delia, Elia, epithelia, Karelia, Montpelier, Ophelia, psychedelia
•bougainvillea, Brasília, cilia, conciliar, familiar, haemophilia (US hemophilia), Hillier, juvenilia, memorabilia, necrophilia, paedophilia (US pedophilia), sedilia
•chanticleer
•collier, volleyer
•cochlea • haulier
•Anatolia, magnolia, melancholia, Mongolia
•Apulia, dulia, Julia, peculiar
•nuclear, sub-nuclear, thermonuclear
•buddleia
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Cite this article
"Amelia." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Amelia." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Amelia.html "Amelia." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Amelia.html |
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