George Somerset, a young architect sketching in Wessex, meets Paula Power, daughter of a railway contractor, who has inherited the ancient castle of the de Stancy family. Asked to restore it, he courts her, but Paula is lukewarm in religion and love alike, and a rival architect, Captain de Stancy and the scheming Dare all stand in his way.
One of Hardy’s lesser-known novels, a contest between old aristocracy and new money. Download the free EPUB.