Shirley Chapter 10 - Old Maids Part 1

In which the prosperity of England’s landscape belies the strife and discontent fermenting within her borders, as commerce and war tug harshly at the lives and spirits of her people, stirring dissension and altering private relations. Miss Helstone, subdued and contemplative, wrestles with the pangs of youthful affection and the sobering prospect of a solitary future, while her uncle imposes stern restrictions that echo the wider discord of the times.