For John's Sake, and Other Stories.

In late Victorian England, a parlour-maid named Ruth faces a test of love that has nothing to do with class and everything to do with the bottle. Engaged to John, a gardener whose sobriety she cherishes above all else, Ruth has kept her pledge of total abstinence not for herself but for him. Then John's brother Dick returns from Australia with wild ways and easier living on his lips, and suddenly Ruth's greatest fear crystallizes: that the man she loves will fall. These stories pulse with the urgent questions of their era: Can love survive temptation? Is personal resolve enough when the world offers easier comforts? Written with genuine emotional weight rather than mere moralizing, Perram's collection captures the trembling hope of working-class lovers navigating desire, addiction, and the fragile promise of a better life. The title story builds its tension through quiet domestic moments and whispered fears, making the stakes feel as real as a heartbeat in an empty kitchen.