The Cloven Foot: A Novel
1879
John Treverton arrives at Hazlehurst Manor expecting to claim his inheritance from his dying kinsman. Instead, he finds Jasper Treverton's adopted daughter, the enigmatic Laura Malcolm, and a condition that will determine his entire future: to marry her or lose everything. What begins as a calculation of love and money becomes something far more dangerous in this 1879 sensation novel, where the title's dark allusion to the cloven foot hints at the hidden corruption lurking beneath the Manor walls. Braddon, master of Victorian scandal, weaves a tale where inheritance, desire, and deception intertwine. John must confront his own moral compromises while navigating Laura's secrets. Is she victim or villain? Is he suitor or savior? The answers lie in what both are willing to sacrifice for fortune and respectability.
