A virtuous young lady has two lovers and a miserly father.
Sophia Lucy Jane Clifford turned to fiction to support herself after the death of her husband. She published several successful novels under her married name (Mrs. W.K. Clifford); this one makes up for its lovers’-misunderstanding plot with its excellent style and interesting characters.
“Character forms the main interest. . . . Despite crude and ineffective passages, it repays perusal.” Spectator, October 29, 1881
“The chief charm of the tale lies in the character of the heroine, one of the most natural girls with whom recent fiction has made us acquainted. . . . The author possesses a lively style, keen observation, considerable powers of description, and a decided turn for epigram.” Athenaeum, November 11, 1881
The “chief incident on which the story turns is both feeble and improbable; but, for all that, The Dingy House at Kensington is a very good novel.” Saturday Review, December 17, 1881
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