Marriage

With her sharp eye for human foibles and fancies, Scottish author Ferrier (1782–1854) outsold her contemporary Jane Austen with witty stories of Scottish social life. Two centuries later, her first novel returns to print, following two generations of women whose desires lead them to disparate fates. At 17, Lady Juliana, daughter of an earl, is certain she “shouldn’t at all mind being poor.” But when she shuns the wealthy but odious duke selected by her father and elopes with a “captivating Scotsman,” she is appalled by everything about his family and life, including the ramshackle family castle surrounded by “dingy turnip fields,” bagpipe music, the Scottish diet, and the swarm of long-chinned spinster aunts and hovering sisters. Later, Juliana happily hands off one of her twin baby girls—whom she refers to as plagues—to her husband’s sister to raise. Nurture defies nature and the two girls mature into very different people with morally deserved fates. Ferrier writes with crisp, telling details and a knack for naming characters (Mrs. Wiseacre, Lady Dull). This reprint should delight modern fans of stories of manners much as it did readers 200 years ago. (Jan.)