His Grace

About this issue

This serialized novel by W. E. Norris follows Philip Martyn, a failed solicitor dismissed by his Uncle John for lacking the aptitude for law. Set in May 1887 during Queen Victoria's jubilee, Martyn is unemployed and supporting himself through unpublished poetry and his mother's modest means. Learning that his old Eton schoolfellow Arthur Gascoigne has inherited the Dukedom of Hurstbourne following the death of the previous duke, Martyn reflects on their divergent social trajectories. A club acquaintance explains that while Gascoigne inherits the title and entailed estates, his estranged cousin Paul likely receives the valuable London property, as Gascoigne's father quarreled with the late Duke. The narrative explores class divisions and inheritance complications within the aristocratic Gascoigne family, establishing Martyn's position as an outsider observing genteel but financially precarious circumstances.

In this issue

• “His Grace” by W. E. Norris · p.9