The Golden Fleece

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. At Burnesbey Abbey and in the polished social world of Thwayte, a sharp battle of temperaments turns into a test of conscience. Meredith, idealistic and philanthropic, visits Caleb Coffin, an elderly merchant who has unexpectedly inherited a grand estate yet remains stubbornly practical, cynical, and unmoved by country-gentleman pretensions. Their conversation ranges from coal-mining reform and tenants' welfare to marriage, women's motives, and the uneasy question of whether charity can survive vanity, comfort, and social ambition. Meanwhile, Lady Macaw's fashionable circle at the Villa of Roses satirically displays provincial high society at work and play. Lucy Langton, Delia, Miss Eccles, and the striking Philomel Lamb all weigh in on Caleb's bluntness, but real alarm follows when his plans threaten the village school and other estate-supported good works. Philomel, the vicar's daughter, takes up the cause herself, first faltering, then returning with deeper sincerity to plead for the school's survival. Caleb responds with a ruthless challenge: if her charity is genuine, she must prove it by sacrificing her beautiful hair in secret.