Kept in the Dark

Issued in 1882, this novel turns on a concealed engagement. Cecilia Holt of Exeter, after breaking with the possessive Sir Francis Geraldine, marries George Western without telling him of that earlier attachment. When Western learns the truth he treats the silence as a betrayal of trust and leaves her, taking himself abroad and refusing explanation. Cecilia remains in England under the eyes of friends and of Western's exacting sister, while intermediaries try to reopen the marriage. Sir Francis reappears as a source of gossip and pressure. The book is a domestic study of pride, the right to a past, and the damage done by a husband's demand for complete candor.

Quarter brown series binding, pale yellow paper boards with the border in brown. Pale yellow endleaves. Brown slipcase.