David Alfred Bywaters's Crossword Cavalcade & Fortnightly Victorian Novel Recommender. Every Saturday! Either a new language-torturing puzzle or an old novel by an unjustly neglected Victorian author. Why waste time on other amusements?

Novel 092: Sarah MacNaughtan, The Fortune of Christina McNab (1901)

John Lavery, Portrait of a Lady in a Green Coat
John Lavery, Portrait of a Lady in a Green Coat

A newly rich young middle-class Scotswoman pays a friend’s aristocratic cousin to introduce her into society


Sarah MacNaughtan (1864-1916) wrote about a dozen novels, beginning in 1898, mostly clever social comedies like this one.

“This is a quite admirable story”; the author “relieves his [sic]  fun with a delicate touch of pathos.”  Spectator, November 16, 1901.

“The story has both shrewdness and humour”; it is based on “direct observation. . . .  Some of the character sketches . . . are excellent.” Academy, November 23, 1901

“A really readable and lively story.”  Detroit Free Press, November 30, 1901

Download this week’s novel:

https://archive.org/details/fortuneofchristi00macnuoft/