POSSESSION
- a romance CRISTINA DEAN
FEDERICA ZANABONI
5A
CHAPTER ONE
• Function: Introductory function
• Setting: September 1986 – London Library
• Characters:
– Roland Michell
– Randolph Henry Ash
– James Blackadder
• Events:
– Roland is studying Ash’s life and works
– He discoveres two letters written by the poet
addressed to an unnamed woman
– He decides to keep them secretly
CHAPTER TWO
• Function: Description of Roland’s life
• Setting: Roland’s house
• Characters:
– Roland Michell
– Val
• Events:
– Information about the main character
– The relationship between Roland and Val
– Roland tells Val about his discovery but she is not
interested
CHAPTER THREE
• Function: The beginning of Roland’s research
• Setting: Prince Albert College of London, British Museum
• Characters:
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Roland Michell
James Blackadder
Christabel LaMotte
Fergus Wolff
• Events:
– Roland photocopies the letters but he wants the originals
– He consults Crabb Robinson's diary and discoveres the
unnamed woman: LaMotte
– Roland meets Fergus Wolff who mentiones two famous
reaserchers of LaMotte: Maud Bailey and Leonora Stern
CHAPTER FOUR
• Function: Meeting between Roland and Maud and involvement
of Maud in the research
• Setting: Lincoln University, Maud’s house
• Characters:
– Roland Michell
– Maud Bailey
– Christabel LaMotte
– Blanche Glover (LaMotte’s friend and probable lover)
• Events:
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Roland meets Maud Bailey
She gives him some information about LaMotte
Information about LaMotte’s life
Roland shows the two letters to Maud
CHAPTER FIVE
• Function: Discovery of other letters of the correspondence
between Ash and LaMotte
• Setting: Lincolnshire, LaMotte’s house
• Characters:
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• Events:
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Roland Michell
Maud Bailey
Christabel LaMotte
Sir George Bailey and Joan Bailey
Roland and Maud go to see LaMotte’s grave
They meet George and Joan Bailey
They can see LaMotte’s room
Discovery of other letters
CHAPTER SIX
• Function: Mortimer Cropper’s great interest in Ash
• Setting: Mrs Wapshott’s house
• Characters:
– Mortimer Cropper
– Mrs Wapshott
• Events:
– Cropper wants to have Mrs Wapshott’s letters (letters
written to Daisy Wapshott’s husband’s mother called
Sophia by Ash)
– Information about Cropper’s life
– Reason why Cropper is interested in Ash
CHAPTER SEVEN
• Function: Presentation of Beatrice Nest
• Setting: British Museum, Roland’s house
• Characters:
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Beatrice Nest
Mortimer Cropper
Roland Michell
Val
• Events:
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Information about Beatrice Nest’s life
Reason why Beatrice Nest is interested in Ash
Conversation between Roland and Beatrice
Roland can see Ellen Ash’s journal
Joan Bailey permits Roland and Maud to study the
letters
CHAPTER EIGHT
• Function: The beginning of Roland and Maud’s study of the
letters
• Setting: George Bailey’s library, Maud’s house
• Characters:
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–
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Roland Michell
Maud Bailey
Leonora Stern
Fergus Wolff
• Events:
– Roland and Maud start to study the letters
– Maud finds two letters: one from Leonora Stern and
one from Fergus Wolff
CHAPTER NINE
• Quotation: The Threshold written by Christabel LaMotte
CHAPTER TEN
• Function: The correspondence between Ash and LaMotte
• Characters:
– Randolph Henry Ash
– Christabel LaMotte
• Events:
– Ash and LaMotte speak about their poetic projects
– He wants to continue the correspondence with
Christabel because he loves her but she would like to
stay alone although she is falling in love with him
– He invites her to participate to a journey and she
accepts
CHAPTER ELEVEN
• Quotation: Swammerdam written by Randolph Henry Ash
CHAPTER TWELVE
• Function: The possible relation between Ash’s journey (1859)
and Blanche Glover’s death (1860)
• Setting: April 1987
• Characters:
– Roland Michell
– Maud Bailey
– Beatrice Nest
– Ellen Ash
– Val
– Blanche Glover
– Fergus Wolff
• Events:
– Roland and Maud try to understand The possible relation
between Ash’s journey (1859) and Blanche Glover’s
death (1860)
– Letter from Blanche Glover to Ellen Ash
– Beatrice Nest gives them Ellen Ash’journal
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
• Function: Reconstruction of Ash’s inland walks
• Setting: Yorkshire
• Characters:
– Roland Michell
– Maud Bailey
• Events:
– Roland and Maud spend five days in Yorkshire visiting
the places of Ash’s journey
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
• Function: Conviction of LaMotte’s presence in Yorkshire with Ash
• Setting: Yorkshire
• Characters:
– Roland Michell
– Maud Bailey
• Events:
– Roland and Maud find the description of that pleces in
LaMotte’s poem Melusina and are sure that she was
there
– Roland starts to court Maud
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
• Function: Report of Ash and LaMotte’s journey to Yorkshire
• Setting: Yorkshire
• Characters:
– Randolph Henry Ash
– Christabel LaMotte
• Events:
– Ash and LaMotte went to Yorkshire
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
• Quotation: The Fairy Melusine written by Christabel LaMotte
The young Raymondin falls in love with a
beautiful woman (the Fairy Melusine), a
creature half woman and half snake. They
marry but he promises not to see her on
Saturday. Raymondin is jealous and
curios: he sees her on Saturday and
understands that she is half snake.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
• Function: Presence of a lot of characters and curiosity about the
possible discovery made by Roland.
• Setting: British Museum
• Characters:
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James Blackadder
Fergus Wolff
Val
Mortimer Cropper
• Events:
– Fergus Wolff is looking for Roland and Maud and goes
to Val
– Fergus tells Blackadder and Cropper about some letters
discovered by Roland about a possible relationship
between Ash and LaMotte.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
• Function: Development of researches
• Setting: Women’s Studies Resource Centre and Maud’s house
(Lincoln), Seal Court
• Characters:
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James Blackadder
Maud Bailey
Leonora Stern
Mortimer Cropper
Roland Michell
Sir George Bailey
• Events:
– Maud tries to understand the connection between
LaMotte’s absence and Blanche Glover’s death
– Cropper meets George Bailey
– Cropper and Blackadder are looking for Roland
CHAPTER NINETEEN
• Function: Explanation of LaMotte’s journey to Brittany
• Setting: Brittany
• Characters:
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• Events:
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Christabel LaMotte
Sabine De Kercoz (LaMotte’s cousin)
Maud Bailey
Ariane Le Minier
Maud finds Sabine De Kercoz’s papiers that refer to
LaMotte’s travel to Brittany
– The question of a possible child of LaMotte and Ash
CHAPTER TWENTY
• Function: The discovery of the letters became public
• Setting: Television Studio
• Characters:
– Mortimer Cropper
– James Blackadder
– Leonora Stern
• Events:
– Mortimer Cropper gives a lecture
– James Blackadder reads some books to understand the
connection between Ash and LaMotte
– Blackadder and Leonora participate to a television
program
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
• Quotation: Mummy Possest written by Randolph Henry
Ash
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
• Function: The beginning of a ferocious wrangle for the
documents
• Setting: Newmarket
• Characters:
– Val
– Euan MacIntyre
– Toby Byng
• Events:
– The relationship between Val and Euan
– Toby Byng is involved in literary solicitor
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
• Function: Maud and Roland’s escape
• Setting: Baie des Tréspassés (Brittany)
• Characters:
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Maud Bailey
Roland Michell
Leonora Stern
James Blackadder
Mortimer Cropper
• Events:
– Maud and Roland go back home because they see
Leonora, Blackadder and Cropper.
– Leonora, Blackadder and Cropper eat together
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
• Function: Maud could have the ownership of the letters
• Setting: Lincoln
• Characters:
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• Events:
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Maud Bailey
Roland Michel
Val
Euan MacIntyre
Toby Byng (Sir George’s lawyer)
Beatrice Nest
Euan, Val, Toby, Maud and Roland eat together and
discuss about copyright and ownership of documents
– Beatrice Nest tells Maud about the discussion between
Cropper and Hildebrand Ash: Cropper want to keep a
pack in Ash’s grave
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
• Function: Ellen’s reactions
• Setting: Ash’s house
• Characters:
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• Events:
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Ellen Ash
Christabel LaMotte
Randolph Henry Ash
Blanche Glover
LaMotte writes a letter to Ash because he is ill but Ellen
doesn’t give him the letter
– Flashback: Ash confesses to Ellen his love for another
woman
– Ellen discovers the presence of a child reading Ash’s
letter to LaMotte
– Ellen puts LaMotte’s letter into Ash’s grave
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
• Function: Roland’s unexpected success
• Setting: Roland’s house
• Characters:
– Roland Michell
• Events:
– Roland finds some letters: they are job offers from
Hong Kong, Amsterdam, and Barcelona and a letter
from Blackadder.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
• Function: Roland’s confessions
• Setting: Beatrice Nest’s house
• Characters:
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• Events:
Roland Michell
Maud Bailey
Val
Euan MacIntyre
Beatrice Nest
James Blackadder
Leonora Stern
– More discussion of ownership and copyrights of letters
– Roland confesses how he came upon the original two
letters and the research
– They want to intercept Cropper
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
• Function: Conclusion of the story
• Setting: Hodershall
• Characters:
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• Events:
Roland Michell
Maud Bailey
Beatrice Nest
James Blackadder
Leonora Stern
Mortimer Cropper
Hildebrand Ash
– Cropper and Hildebrand find the box but they are
stopped by Roland and the others
– They read LaMotte’s hidden letter and they research is
finished
POSTSCRIPT
• Function: No one can know the truth!!!
Ash meets his daughter Maia