Love and Life: An Old Story in Eighteenth Century Costume
1880
Love and Life: An Old Story in Eighteenth Century Costume
1880
In this quietly devastating novel, Charlotte M. Yonge reimagines the ancient myth of Psyche and Cupid as a tale of three sisters navigating the treacherous waters of Georgian England. The Delavie sisters, Aurelia, Harriet, and their elder 'Aunt' Betty, live quietly with their retired officer father, their days measured by polite visits, syllabub parties, and the small dramas of country society. But when romantic interest turns toward the youngest, Aurelia, the story unfolds into something far darker than simple courtship: a meditation on love's sacrifices, the cruelty of hidden identities, and what women surrender when they chase desire. Yonge, the beloved Victorian author who shaped generations of young readers, writes with sharp observation of social codes and deep sympathy for those trapped by them. The prose has that rare quality of seeming effortless while quietly breaking your heart. This is a novel about what it costs to be loved, and what it costs to love in return.
