Victorian virtues

Introduction

English poet and novelist Dinah Maria Craik was born in 1826. Her novel John Halifax, Gentleman, first published in 1856, is centred upon the Gloucestershire town of Tewkesbury, thinly disguised by the fictional name Norton Bury. Phineas, a friend of the central character, narrates the story. John Halifax, an orphan, is determined to make his way in the world by means of honest hard work. Abel Fletcher, who is a Quaker and a tanner by trade, takes in Halifax, who thus meets Abel’s son, Phineas. Eventually achieving success in business and love alike, Halifax becomes a wealthy and model middle-class man. Craik died in 1887.

Please select below to view scanned pages from 'John Halifax, Gentleman (1856)':

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