Marcella, young and with a new-womanly independence, has a yearning to help the poor. When a gamekeeper is murdered near where she lives, Marcella finds herself at odds with her wealthy fianc over beliefs about property and justice. The discovery leads Marcella to pursueamong other thingsa career in nursing. In settings ranging from village cottages, London slums and hospital wards to fashionable drawing rooms and the Ladies Gallery of the Houses of Parliament, the book combines a gripping story with serious issuessocialism, rural and urban poverty, poaching laws, journalistic ethics, the Woman Questioninspiring critics to liken Marcella to George Eliots novels.
The Broadview Literary Texts edition records the substantive differences between the two major editions published during Wards lifetime, and included among the many appendices are news accounts of the murder trial and executions that inspired the novel, and previously unpublished letters by Ward.
NB: Mary Augusta Ward has traditionally been known as Mrs. Humphry Ward.
