Set in New York in the mid nineteenth century, this novel centres on Catherine Sloper, a shy and plain young woman who lives with her clever, exacting father, a respected doctor. When a handsome, charming young man begins to court her, her father suspects he wants only her fortune. Catherine is caught between love and obedience, and between her own hopes and her father's cool judgment. The book is a quiet, ironic study of family power, trust and the cost of disappointment, with a heroine who grows in dignity over time.
Quotes
She was not ugly; she had simply a plain, dull, gentle countenance.
She had been so humble in her youth that she could now afford to have a little pride.
Chapter XXXIII · Project Gutenberg #2870 (opens in a new tab)
She ordered a cup of tea, which proved excessively bad, and this gave her a sense that she was suffering in a romantic cause.
Don't undervalue irony; it is often of great use.
Chapter XXVII · Project Gutenberg #2870 (opens in a new tab)