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A comparison of the 1889 and the revised 1903 edition of Somerville and Ross's first novel, An Irish Cousin

In 1903, after the publication of the second volume of the Irish R.M. stories, Edith Œ. Somerville and Martin Ross revised and republished their first novel, An Irish Cousin (1889), under its original name. They reduced it from two volumes to one, made global revisions to the plot, and edited it at the word and sentence level. More interestingly, they modified the representation of the main Irish protagonists of the gothic plot, both landlords and tenants. To date, no extensive comparison between the two editions exists. The 1889 edition is rare, so commentators have relied on the 1903 edition even though they often cite the social context of the first edition. This article compares the two editions and provides explanations for the revisions, examining the authors’ personal and professional reasons for these changes voiced in their published and unpublished letters and diaries within the cultural, social, and political context of the period. The comparison briefly considers the implications of these changes for theorists of the Irish Gothic.