'Human nature may be easy to see through, but it is very hard to understand.' The ageing Catherine Vernon, jilted in her youth, has risen to power in a man's world as head of the family bank. She thinks she sees through everyone and rules over a family of dependents with knowing cynicism. But there are two people in Redborough who resist her. One is Hester, a young relation with a personality as strong as Catherine's, and as determined to find a role for herself. The other is Edward, Catherine's favourite, whom she treats like a son. Conflict between young and old is inevitable, and in its depiction of the complex relationships that develop between the three principal characters, Publishing October 2003 (exact date?) Margaret Oliphant is one of the great Victorian novelists, and this edition establishes her rediscovered importance.
- ISBN10 0192804111
- ISBN13 9780192804112
- Publish Date 1 December 2003 (first published 9 August 1984)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 27 November 2009
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Oxford University Press
- Edition New edition
- Format Paperback
- Pages 500
- Language English