The Bertrams

Published in 1859, this novel follows George Bertram, a brilliant Oxford man who travels in the Holy Land with his feckless diplomat father, Sir Lionel, and then must choose among the Church, the law, and a life of inherited ease. He loves the quiet Adela Gauntlet but is drawn to Caroline Waddington, who marries the rising barrister Sir Henry Harcourt for position. Parallel disappointments in vocation, money, and marriage occupy the English chapters; an uncle's will and Harcourt's public career supply the pressure. The book is a story of wasted talent and mismatched matches, not a travel book about Jerusalem and not a clerical Barsetshire tale.

Quarter bound in blue series binding, pale blue paper boards with the border in blue. Pale blue endleaves. Dark red or blue slipcase.