Blindness

the long version

"Blinded in an accident on his way home from boarding school, John Haye must reevaluate his life and the possibilities for his future. His stepmother - worried that, blind and dependent, he'll spend his life with her - wants to marry him off to anyone who will take him, provided she's of the "right" social class. Contrary to her hopes, John falls in love with the daughter of the town drunk (who is also the town parson). She whisks John off to London, where in this strange city he is confined to a room above a major thoroughfare while she gets on with her life."--BOOK JACKET.