POSSESSION - a romance -

CRISTINA DEAN

FEDERICA ZANABONI5A

CHAPTER ONE

• Function: Introductory function

• Setting: September 1986 – London Library

• Characters: – Roland Michell – Randolph Henry Ash– James Blackadder

• Events: – Roland is studying Ash’s life and works– He discoveres two letters written by the poet

addressed to an unnamed woman

– He decides to keep them secretly

CHAPTER TWO

• Function: Description of Roland’s life

• Setting: Roland’s house

• Characters: – Roland Michell – Val

• Events: – Information about the main character – The relationship between Roland and Val– Roland tells Val about his discovery but she is not

interested

CHAPTER THREE• Function: The beginning of Roland’s research

• Setting: Prince Albert College of London, British Museum

• Characters:

– Roland Michell – James Blackadder– Christabel LaMotte– Fergus Wolff

• Events:

– Roland photocopies the letters but he wants the originals– He consults Crabb Robinson's diary and discoveres the

unnamed woman: LaMotte– Roland meets Fergus Wolff who mentiones two famous

reaserchers of LaMotte: Maud Bailey and Leonora Stern

CHAPTER FOUR• Function: Meeting between Roland and Maud and involvement

of Maud in the research• Setting: Lincoln University, Maud’s house• Characters:

– Roland Michell– Maud Bailey– Christabel LaMotte– Blanche Glover (LaMotte’s friend and probable lover)

• Events: – Roland meets Maud Bailey – She gives him some information about LaMotte– Information about LaMotte’s life– Roland shows the two letters to Maud

CHAPTER FIVE• Function: Discovery of other letters of the correspondence

between Ash and LaMotte• Setting: Lincolnshire, LaMotte’s house• Characters:

– Roland Michell – Maud Bailey – Christabel LaMotte– Sir George Bailey and Joan Bailey

• Events: – Roland and Maud go to see LaMotte’s grave – They meet George and Joan Bailey– They can see LaMotte’s room– Discovery of other letters

CHAPTER SIX

• Function: Mortimer Cropper’s great interest in Ash• Setting: Mrs Wapshott’s house• Characters:

– Mortimer Cropper– Mrs Wapshott

• Events: – Cropper wants to have Mrs Wapshott’s letters (letters

written to Daisy Wapshott’s husband’s mother called Sophia by Ash)

– Information about Cropper’s life– Reason why Cropper is interested in Ash

CHAPTER SEVEN

• Function: Presentation of Beatrice Nest • Setting: British Museum, Roland’s house• Characters:

– Beatrice Nest– Mortimer Cropper– Roland Michell– Val

• Events: – Information about Beatrice Nest’s life– Reason why Beatrice Nest is interested in Ash– Conversation between Roland and Beatrice– Roland can see Ellen Ash’s journal – Joan Bailey permitts Roland and Maud to study the

letters

CHAPTER EIGHT

• Function: The beginning of Roland and Maud’s study of the letters

• Setting: George Bailey’s library, Maud’s house

• Characters: – Roland Michell– Maud Bailey– Leonora Stern – Fergus Wolff

• Events: – Roland and Maud start to study the letters– Maud finds two letters: one from Leonora Stern and one

from Fergus Wolff

CHAPTER NINE

• Quotation: The Threshold written by Christabel LaMotte

CHAPTER TEN

• Function: The correspondence between Ash and LaMotte

• Characters: – Randolph Henry Ash– Christabel LaMotte

• Events: – Ash and LaMotte speak about their poetic projects– He wants to continue the correspondence with

Christabel because he loves her but she would like to stay alone although she is falling in love with him

– He invites her to participate to a journey and she accepts

CHAPTER ELEVEN

• Quotation: Swammerdam written by Randolph Henry Ash

CHAPTER TWELVE• Function: The possible relation between Ash’s journey (1859) and

Blanche Glover’s death (1860)• Setting: April 1987• Characters:

– Roland Michell– Maud Bailey– Beatrice Nest– Ellen Ash – Val– Blanche Glover– Fergus Wolff

• Events: – Roland and Maud try to understand The possible relation

between Ash’s journey (1859) and Blanche Glover’s death (1860)

– Letter from Blanche Glover to Ellen Ash– Beatrice Nest gives them Ellen Ash’journal

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

• Function: Reconstruction of Ash’s inland walks

• Setting: Yorkshire

• Characters: – Roland Michell– Maud Bailey

• Events: – Roland and Maud spend five days in Yorkshire visiting

the places of Ash’s journey

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

• Function: Conviction of LaMotte’s presence in Yorkshire with Ash

• Setting: Yorkshire

• Characters: – Roland Michell– Maud Bailey

• Events: – Roland and Maud find the description of that pleces in

LaMotte’s poem Melusina and are sure that she was there

– Roland starts to court Maud

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

• Function: Report of Ash and LaMotte’s journey to Yorkshire

• Setting: Yorkshire • Characters:

– Randolph Henry Ash – Christabel LaMotte

• Events: – Ash and LaMotte went to Yorkshire

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

• Quotation: The Fairy Melusine written by Christabel LaMotte

The young Raymondin falls in love with a beutiful woman (the Fairy Melusine), a

creature half woman and half snake. They marry but he promises not to see her on

Saturday. Raymondin is jelous and curios: he sees her on Saturday and understands

that she is half snake.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

• Function: Presence of a lot of characters and curiosity about the possible discovery made by Roland.

• Setting: British Museum

• Characters: – James Blackadder– Fergus Wolff– Val– Mortimer Cropper

• Events: – Fergus Wolff is looking for Roland and Maud and goes

to Val– Fergus tells Blackadder and Cropper about some letters

discovered by Roland about a possible relationship between Ash and LaMotte.