The Fortunate Foundlings

"The Fortunate Foundlings" is a picaresque novel from 1744 featuring twins Horatio and Louisa, whose journey in the world differs because of their gender. They were both abandoned in infancy and adopted, but soon leave their carer to go off on their one. Whilst  Louisa must fight to preserve her virtue in a man’s world, her brother joins the army. This is an eighteenth century rollercoaster - action packed, passionate, melodramatic, and at times unashamedly sentimental.

Eliza Haywood (1693– 1756), née Elizabeth Fowler, was a British author, actress and publisher, who was rediscovered in the 1980s. Little is known about the author, who herself left conflicting information about her life, and was extremely secretive about her personal life. She was a prolific author of romances and other novel’s focusing on women’s point of views, status, and rights. Among her most famous works are “Love in Excess; Or, The Fatal Enquiry” (1720), “Fantomina; Or Love in a Maze” (1725) and “The Anti-Pamela; Or Feign’d Innocence Detected” (1741). Haywood is an important figure of 18th century literature.