A rich, powerful female banker neglects one cousin, a talented young woman, and favors another, a dashing young man.
Here is another novel by Oliphant (see Novels 007, 008, 056, 107). It lacks concision, but it represents some particularly interesting, internally conflicted major characters, and some particularly amusing minor ones.
“The author has drawn powerful pictures of this country town, and introduced into her tale a number of remarkable character sketches. No other writer describes as well as Mrs. Oliphant all the lights and shades and the almost invisible barriers which serve to divide into as many distinct classes the dwellers in provincial neighbourhoods. . . . The scenes as the dénoûment approaches are very powerful, the climax artistically foreshadowed.” Morning Post, January 2, 1884
“I have had so much pleasure in the book—its immeasurable delicacies of observation, its keenness of perception, its many moving touches of humour and wit and fine creativeness. . . . It has a certain distinction of manner, an easy mastery of method, and a fine superiority of mental attitude.” Academy, January 5, 1884
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