Miss MacKenzie

Published in 1865, this novel follows Margaret Mackenzie, who has spent her adult years nursing a dying father and then an invalid brother. When Walter dies she inherits an unexpected income and, unused to independence, leaves London for the spa town of Littlebath. There she enters an Evangelical circle around Mr Stumfold, while three men court her: Samuel Rubb, partner in her remaining brother's failing business; the curate Mr Maguire, who wants her money; and her cousin John Ball, a widower with many children. A later legal doubt about the origin of the fortune tests whether the suitors want Margaret or her income. The book is a social novel about a middle-aged heiress and marriage as a financial bargain.

Quarter bound in blue-grey series binding, pale grey paper boards with the border in blue. Pale grey endleaves. Blue slipcase.