Mr Scarborough's Family

First published in 1883, this novel centres on John Scarborough of Tretton, a dying squire who rewrites the facts of his marriage in order to defeat the moneylenders holding his elder son Mountjoy's post-obit bonds. By declaring the eldest illegitimate, he makes the younger son Augustus heir; later he reverses the story, using English marriage and entail law as weapons. Around the estate gather lawyers, a dutiful niece Florence, and suitors whose prospects rise and fall with each version of the birth. Mountjoy's gambling and Augustus's cold calculation are tested against their father's game. The book is a legal and family novel about inheritance as a trick played on creditors and sons.

Quarter-bound in dark blue buckram blocked with a black and gilt design, pale grey paper covers. Dark blue slipcase.