The Argosy, Vol. 43

# Lady Grace

Author: Mrs. Henry Wood (author of East Lynne)

Setting: Rural parishes of Great Whitton and Little Whitton, approximately thirty miles from London, January 1887.

Featured Content: The opening serial installment of Lady Grace, a novel of drawing-room drama and romantic entanglement. The narrative establishes multiple social strata and romantic tensions: Lady Grace Carmel, a haughty young noblewoman, and her mother the Countess of Avon; Edith Dane, the sweet-natured daughter of a deceased rector, living reduced circumstances; and the Reverend Ryle Baumgarten, an eloquent but ambitious young clergyman lodging at Whitton Cottage. Baumgarten harbors concealed romantic attachment to impoverished Edith but considers his two-hundred-pound living insufficient to marry. When Lady Grace invites him to tea, Edith's jealousy becomes apparent. Themes include class distinction, clerical duty, parish social responsibility, and constrained romantic affection.