ABOUT BOOK

The dominant situation is one of intense anguish: a poor country clergyman, proud, learned, sternly conscientious, is accused of a felony, and the pressure of family want makes his guilt seem only too probable. His own agony, his wife's dread, and the distress of his daughter, affianced to the son of a neighbouring landowner, are the elements of a profound tragedy. The ecclesiastical society of The Warden and its successors, Mr. Harding, Mrs. Proudie and the rest, make their last appearance here.