Wives and Daughters

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About this book

Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughterscentres on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries, a new step-sister enters Molly's quiet life - loveable, but worldly and troubling, Cynthia. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford. Wives and Daughtersis far more than a nostalgic evocation of village life; it offers an ironic critique of mid-Victorian society. 'No nineteenth-century novel contains a more devastating rejection than this of the Victorian male assumption of moral authority', writes Pam Morris in her introduction to this new edition, in which she explores the novel's main themes - the role of women, Darwinism and the concept of Englishness - and its literary and social context.

Book Details

ISBN13 9780140434781
ISBN10 014043478X
Series/Work OL1103200W View on OpenLibrary
Publisher Penguin Books
Pages 679
Language ENG
Created At January 30, 2025
Updated At April 18, 2025
Last OL update January 18, 2025

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