Early Irish Fiction: A Definitive Scholarly Edition of Charles Johnstone, The History of Arsaces, Prince of Betlis (1774)

This project aims to provide a major new scholarly edition of an eighteenth-century novel by Charles Johnstone, The History of Arsaces, Prince of Betlis (1774), as part of a new series of Early Irish Fiction, c. 1680-1820, from Four Courts Press, Dublin. Johnstone was a much respected - and feared - satirist of his day, described by Sir Walter Scott as 'a prose Juvenal'. His work was first recommended for publication by Samuel Johnson and he quickly made a mark on the literary scene in London with his novel Chrysal; or the Adventures of a Guinea (1760-65), which spawned a host of imitations for decades. His Oriental tale, Arsaces, was among a series of novels and satires that followed; it includes early satirical references to the American War of Independence as well as the East India Company's early forays into India. Set in a geographical area arching across the middle East to India and China, and within a referential framework spanning several centuries of fictionalised history, the novel describes the adventures and education of Selim, a young Arabian, who is discovered by the end of the novel to be Arsaces, Prince of Betlis. The work straddles many genres of fictional writing that were developing in the period such as satire, oriental tale, bildungsroman, and, of course, the novel. Despite the brilliance, wit, and intelligence of his work Johnstone fell into neglect from the nineteenth century as his densely allusive and topically engaged satirical writing was sidelined by the emergence of the eighteenth-century canon of fiction favoured by Victorian critics and novelists who constructed Richardson, Sterne, Smollett, and Fielding as their fictional forebears. This edition of Arsaces will restore the vitality of this eighteenth-century text through a full scholarly apparatus including a detailed critical introduction, notes and bibliography. As part of the new Early Irish Fiction series (launched in March 2010), it will contribute greatly towards our understanding of key genres and literary tropes associated with early fiction in English, Irish literature and the Orient.

o Who will benefit from this research?
This edition will directly benefit scholars and students of literature interested in the history of the English novel, Irish literature, Eighteenth-century literature, Orientalism, and Satire. The indirect benefits will be circulated in the literary and cultural domain.

o How will they benefit from this research?
The benefits are mainly in the areas of literary, historical and cultural understanding. These benefits will feed into current scholarship and, through that scholarship, into the wider realm of culture.

o What will be done to ensure that they have the opportunity to benefit from this research?
It is important to note that this edition is not being done in isolation; it is part of a series which will gain high visibility and prestige in the scholarly community. The series was launched in conjunction with a conference at Trinity College Dublin in March 2010 at which I presented a paper on Charles Johnstone in India, divulging for the first time his newspaper writings in the Calcutta Gazette. This discovery was received with gratifying interest by the scholarly community, and has led to several seminar invitations, conferences, and a fellowship offer from the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Studies (JNIAS) of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi. Between 2010 and 2011 I have delivered several papers on Johnstone at locations in Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow and Oxford. In May 2011 I published a paper on "Charles Johnstone, Ireland and Empire" in a special issue of Irish University Review (IUR) which was devoted to Early Irish Fiction, 1660-1830, and edited by Ian Campbell Ross, Aileen Douglas and Moyra Haslett. These preliminary research panels, seminars, and publications within the context of the Early Irish Fiction series provide a strong platform for the emergence of the proposed edition. The fellowship at JNU Delhi will provide a further opportunity to publicise the Early Irish Fiction series and my edition in South Asia.

The work will be widely disseminated in a variety of formats and media (oral presentations, seminars, conferences, academic launches, and journal papers), the culmination of which will be the scholarly edition published by Four Courts Press. My edition of Johnstone's Arsaces will provide the definitive scholarly version of his work and will make a permanent contribution to the study of Irish fiction. An editorial series of this nature will be seen as an essential acquisition by all major university and scholarly libraries with collections in the areas of Eighteenth-century literature, Irish literature, and English fiction.

The Early Irish Fiction series is being developed under the expert guidance of the general editors: Prof. Ian Campbell Ross, Prof. Aileen Douglas, and Dr. Moyra Haslett, who are well-known authorities in the field of eighteenth-century Irish literature. The series has been widely welcomed by the scholarly community and has drawn high praise from eminent literary scholars and historians such as Prof. J. Paul Hunter, Prof. Margaret Kelleher, Prof. Toby Barnard, and Prof. Thomas Keymer among others.