Household Words

Sir Roger Rockville stands at the center of a sharp, witty portrait of an ancient English family that has survived the centuries by clinging to land, lineage, and pride. Though the Rockvilles trace their roots to the Norman Conquest and still look every inch the aristocrats, their greatness has curdled into sterility: they have lost vitality, imagination, and public purpose, even as their estate becomes modern, prosperous, and productive. Sir Roger, sixty, unmarried, suspicious, and embattled by the changing world, is the last likely heir of a line that has preserved its name but not its soul. That decline comes into comic conflict with the nearby manufacturing town of Great Stockington, whose people claim the woods, riverbanks, and footpaths for walks, fishing, boating, and picnics. Sir Roger tries to shut them out with legal notices, provoking outrage, courtroom wrangling, and a bitter stalemate that exposes the clash between inherited privilege and the growing claims of ordinary people. As the estate grows more neglected and hostile, Harry brings a brighter spirit, turning chemistry into lively entertainment with practical lessons on water, air, flame, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbonic acid gas. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.