Virago classics

"Margaret Oliphant was one of the most prolific and popular writers of her day. Her domestic novels are steeped in the broad social, political, and religious worlds of the Victorian era, and her Chronicles of Carlingford series stands as an insightful portrait of English life. Phoebe Junior, the last of this series, examines Victorian class dynamics by following the social mobility of one family and the effects of this mobility on the daughter, Phoebe.". "Based on the earliest edition, this Broadview Literary Text also includes a variety of contextualizing primary sources. Among these are excerpts from Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, illustrations from Punch, and materials on the "Woman Question" and on Etiquette and Dress."--BOOK JACKET.

First published in Great Britain in 3 volumes by Randal Taylor, 1684-1687.

Millenium Hall is an elegant mansion, surrounded by fragrant pastures and hedgerows of hyacinths and primroses. In this idyllic setting live six women of independent means who have eschewed the falsehoods of society and come together to establish a utopian community. Their backgrounds are very different but a common spirit unites them: all have rejected the image of woman as chattel, choosing instead to devote themselves to a co-operative life founded on female friendship and support.