Ennui

By Maria Edgeworth,

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Ennui as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Ennui is a hidden gem of a novel. I admire the way it deftly weaves together personal lives and political histories on either side of the Irish Sea. I have come to feel strongly that the author, Maria Edgeworth, is unjustly overlooked by literary history in favour of Jane Austen. Yet Austen drew inspiration from her older contemporary. In this novel, Edgeworth draws on French words and ideas to tell the tale of an over-entitled English lounge lizard who is cured of his fashionable affliction—the ennui of the title—by his travels and travails in Ireland. The result is a cosmopolitan…

From Richard's list on just how much English owes French.

Want books like Ennui?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Ennui.

Browse books like Ennui

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Jane Austen, Ireland, and lizards?

Jane Austen 101 books
Ireland 295 books
Lizards 18 books