Dawn

The novel opens in tenderness: Hugh and Alice Wyman, deeply married, share intimate thoughts during twilight, reflecting on love, individuality, and the challenges of true companionship. They are happy, philosophical, attuned to each other. Then comes the tragedy, Alice dies giving birth to their daughter, Dawn. Hugh is left to raise the child alone, grief-stricken but determined that Dawn carry forward the love and strength that defined her mother. The little girl becomes both his comfort and his burden, a bright presence in the shadow of loss. This is Victorian domestic fiction at its most characteristic, emotional, morally earnest, concerned with the interior life of family. It will appeal to readers who appreciate historical fiction about grief and resilience, who want to understand how Victorians thought about love, death, and the continuation of life through children.