The Infamous John Friend

‘The vivid green, the well kept turf of the Steine contrasted with the bright rust coloured meshes of the fishermen’s nets spread over its seaward end to dry; picturesque fishing boats were drawn up on the shingle of the beach; children were paddling and digging in the sand.’ This is from The Infamous John Friend, a historical novel by Martha Roscoe Garnett partly set in Brighton. As a Jacobite sympathiser, the title character becomes entangled in political intrigue. [This image is courtesy of Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove]

Born in 1869, Martha was a British author and biographer, known for her literary contributions during the early 20th century. She is largely forgotten today, and there is very little biographical information about her available online. She married Richard Garnett, a writer and librarian at the British Museum, and she was related, by her marriage, Constance Garnett, a renowned translator of Russian literature, and Olive Garnett, another author.

Martha Garnett wrote two other novels: Amor Vincit (1912), a romance of the Staffordshire moorlands; and, Unrecorded: A Tale of the Days of Chivalry (1931). In addition to her fiction, she published Samuel Butler and His Family Relations (1926), showcasing her interest in historical and biographical writing. She died in 1946, aged 77.

The Infamous John Friend, first published in 1909, is set in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars and follows John Friend, a spy working for Napoleon. The novel begins with John Friend at home, where his wife Mary is seriously ill. The story then moves to Brighton, where Friend takes his family, including his young daughter Susan, for a change of scenery and to improve his wife’s health.

Brighton Beach can be seen to play a significant role in the story as it serves as the backdrop for several key events and character interactions. The seaside town is described vividly, with mentions of bathing machines and Martha Gunn, and the social atmosphere of the time. Brighton’s popularity as a fashionable resort town during the Regency era is evident in the novel's portrayal of the setting.

An American edition of the novel can be freely read online at Internet Archive. Here is an extract from the novel, from chapter II (‘At Brighton’).

‘But the usual tenor of their life was that of the quieter professional classes; and now it appeared that they were to launch into fashionable life. Friend himself was quite unchanged. He was always the same in all surroundings and with all conditions of men. He took Susan out for a walk in the morning, eager for her first view of the sea. Mrs Friend was keeping her room after the fatigues of the journey. It was a different scene indeed from the Brighton of our day. The landscape was all Downs and sea; the little town dominated by its square towered church clustered among hayfields and cornfields. But rows of houses were beginning to spread like extended fingers among the fields, and the roads showed signs of traffic beyond the uses of country lanes. Over at Hove the white tents of the military camp shone in the sun, and glimpses of scarlet and flashes of burnished metal occasionally struck the eye. But the great glittering plain of the sea absorbed all Susan’s attention. She had no eyes for the streets, delightfully clean after the filth of London, nor for the sunshine glowing on the red brick pavements and working color harmonies between them and the dappled grey flint work of the walls. The vivid green, the well kept turf of the Steine contrasted with the bright rust colored meshes of the fishermen’s nets spread over its seaward end to dry; picturesque fishing boats were drawn up on the shingle of the beach; children were paddling and digging in the sand. A row of bathing machines stood in the shallow water, while stalwart females, gowned in faded indigo blue serge, were standing waist deep in the sea and “dipping” the ladies and children who entrusted themselves to their care.’