Beasley

Violet, Or, The Danseuse: A Portraiture of Human Passions and Character

Henry Colburn, 1836.

The novel was published anonymously and there have been several suggestions as to the author. The British Library attributes it to Beasley, forename not known.

D'Arcy had a house in one of the terraces facing the Regent's Park: he had taken care to have it prettily furnished; and the sunny aspect and enlivening green expanse on which the eye could dwell from the windows, rendered it a cheerful abode, and one in which Violet would have lived almost contentedly if - but there are always ifs.

The 'if' here is that Violet, a dancer at the Opera, has been seduced by 'a rising star among the host of modern politicians' and now finds herself in the role of mistress. Unhappiness about her fall from grace increases with the discovery that D'Arcy is pursuing other women.

The sun was shining brightly over the green surface of the Regent's Park. It was a charming afternoon in the month of June. Violet heard the rattle of carriages, and watched the britschkas of the London ladies as they rolled on to the park. Their appearance, as they dashed along, in their brilliant attire and their open vehicles, conveyed an idea of gaiety, and of minds at ease, which the reality, if known, might have failed in proving. Violet gave a sigh, and said inwardly, "All those people cannot be happy, but they are not as wretched as I am".

A description of the park at twilight follows later in the novel.