Thomas Love Peacock 
Headlong Hall 

Thomas Love Peacock considered his novels to be “
comic romances.” ‘Headlong Hall’, published in 1816, the first of his seven novels, already sets the pattern for his other novels of talk: characters seated at table, eating and drinking, and embarking on learned and philosophical discussions in which many common opinions of the day are criticised.



The novel features a country-house, the titular Headlong Hall, populated by a diverse set of characters, each embodying a particular intellectual obsession and each tirelessly advocating his or her ideas in the frequent debates on which the novel turns – debates that are often learned, sometimes absurd, but always spirited. Plot is rudimentary, frequently depending on slapstick relieved by a love interest or two, with marriage providing a comic resolution. While highly eclectic intellectually, the typical Peacock novel is unified by some idea that runs through the novel’s debates.