A Scottish spinster supervises the lives and loves of two virtuous young ladies.
For Oliphant, see novels 007, 008, 056, 107, and 152. This was the first of her hundred-some novels, published when she was 21 years old, but featuring a fully convincing time-worn middle-aged narrator.
“There is not much of story in this . . . but there is so much nature, truthfulness, and quiet strength in the manner of telling it, that the narrative possesses much interest, especially for readers whose taste has not been vitiated by the exciting doses of the intense school.” Spectator, December 22, 1849
“Dispositions and motives of conduct are shown as clearly as if every person in the story had a window placed opposite the heart to reveal its most secret throes. We come to know them all slowly, but with a perfect knowledge, as we advance through their long conversations, and the daily routine of their affairs.” Fraser’s, November, 1850
Download this week’s novel:
http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/f/89vilt/oxfaleph014609775
(Right-click (or control-click, if you have a Mac) on the “view digitized copy” links to download the novel’s three volumes in pdf form. NB: they are out of order)