Lancaster's Choice — Context and Discussion

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In Category - Romantic Drama

Authors: Miller, Alex. McVeigh, Mrs., 1850-1937 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2014 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Inheritance and succession -- Fiction; England -- Fiction; Love stories Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 54,614

Reading time 238 min

Text sections 7

For Lancaster's Choice — Context and Discussion, the stored edition analysis reports 54,614 words, 3 hr 58 min estimated reading time, and 7 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 13.5 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Inheritance and succession -- Fiction,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #47685

This editorial note examines how the opening, middle, and later excerpts of Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller's 1884 romantic drama guide a first reading, focusing on the tension between wealth and love, the use of reflective water imagery, and the heroine's assertive voice.

Editorial Edition Score 4.7/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg47685

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CHAPTER I. CHAPTER II. CHAPTER III. CHAPTER IV. CHAPTER V. CHAPTER VI. CHAPTER VII. CHAPTER VIII. CHAPTER IX. CHAPTER X. CHAPTER XI. CHAPTER XII. CHAPTER XIII. CHAPTER XIV. CHAPTER XV. CHAPTER XVI. CHAPTER XVII. CHAPTER XVIII. CHAPTER XIX. CHAPTER XX. CHAPTER XXI. CHAPTER XXII. CHAPTER XXIII. CHAPTER XXIV. CHAPTER XXV. CHAPTER XXVI. CHAPTER XXVII. CHAPTER XXVIII. CHAPTER XXIX. CHAPTER XXX. CHAPTER XXXI. CHAPTER XXXII. CHAPTER XXXIII. CHAPTER XXXIV. CHAPTER XXXV. CHAPTER XXXVI. CHAPTER XXXVII. CHAPTER XXXVIII. CHAPTER XXXIX. CHAPTER XL.

Old Lady Lancaster had twenty thousand pounds a year of her own. She had brought that much dower when she came to her husband, the late Lord Lancaster, and now, when he was dead, and she a childless widow, she was like the Martha of Holy Writ--she was troubled over many things.

The possession of great wealth usually entails trouble, it is said, and Lady Lancaster's case was no exception to the rule. The greatest anxiety she had was that she could not decide what she would do with her fortune when she died. She was eighty years old, and although she did not want to die, she knew that she would have to do so some day, and she wanted to make her will before that grewsome event.

The title and estates of Lancaster had descended to the late lord's nephew, young Clive Lancaster. It was but a barren honor, after all, for there was no money to support the dignity of the position. The deceased incumbent had been a spendthrift, and so had his father before him. They had dissipated all the property that was not strictly entailed with the title, and the present heir had little to live on except his pay as a captain in the army, where he still remained after his accession to the title, while at his express wish and desire Lady Lancaster still reigned lady paramount at his ancestral home, and kept up its wonted dignity and state. She said she should leave all her money to Captain Lancaster if he married to please her. If not--and she shook her gray head ominously, not to say viciously, at this point, and remained silent.

Lancaster Park was one of the loveliest places in Devonshire, as Devonshire is one of the loveliest counties in England. It seemed almost a pity that the young lord could not afford to marry and bring home a beautiful bride to grace his stately home. No one doubted but that when the time came he would espouse the bride his aunt selected for him. It would be folly, it would be madness, if he refused. No one supposed that the handsome young soldier could be capable of such rashness. He did not dream of anything but obedience himself. He only hoped that it would be a very pretty girl whom his aunt chose for him, and also that the matrimonial hour was yet in the dim distance. He was only five-and-twenty, and he did not care to surrender his bachelor freedom yet. He was amazed and confounded, therefore, when in a year after his uncle's death Lady Lancaster sent him one of her characteristic letters--short and to the point:

"MY DEAR CLIVE"--she wrote--"try and get leave to come down to Lancaster Park for a month or so this fall. I have invited a lot of people for that time, among them the girl I have chosen for you. Do not fail me. Delays are dangerous."

It was rather a command than a request, and the last words sounded like a threat. The young lord-captain was taken by storm. His heart sunk to the bottom of his tall cavalry boots. He did not want to be married off-hand like that. He secretly rebelled against a forced surrender of his soldierly freedom, even though he gained twenty thousand pounds a year in exchange for it. He took counsel with his chum, young Harry De Vere, who was a soldier, too.

"I'm ower young to marry yet," he said. "How shall I outwit the old lady's designs upon me?"

"Come over to America with me," said Lieutenant De Vere. "I have leave of absence for six months. You can get it, too, by the asking. I am going over to the States to spend my holiday. I should be delighted to have you for a companion."

The idea took hold of Captain Lancaster's imagination immediately.

"I will go with you," he said. "I have always intended to make the tour of the United States, and if I do not go before I am married, it is not likely I shall do so afterward. I will write to my aunt to postpone her matrimonial designs a little while longer."

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The first chapter of Lancaster's Choice introduces a conflict rooted in money and control: Old Lady Lancaster, a wealthy widow, threatens to withhold her fortune unless her nephew, Clive Lancaster, marries according to her wishes. The narrator immediately establishes the stakes by noting that the title and estates are “a barren honor” without funds, and that Clive himself “did not dream of anything but obedience.” This opening efficiently sets up a classic romantic dilemma—duty versus desire—while also hinting at the heroine's eventual role as an obstacle to the aunt's plan.

The Wealth-and-Will Framework

The opening excerpt foregrounds Lady Lancaster’s financial power: she has “twenty thousand pounds a year of her own” and is determined to control her nephew’s marriage. The narrator’s phrasing—“she shook her gray head ominously, not to say viciously”—gives the aunt a sharp, almost comic edge. Readers are told that no one doubts Clive will obey, yet the very insistence on his compliance creates suspense. The excerpt also reveals that Clive remains in the army and that Lady Lancaster “reigned lady paramount” at his home, suggesting a power imbalance that the story will likely test.

The Magic Mirror Scene

In Chapter XXIV, the heroine Leonora gazes into a lake and sees Clive’s face reflected beside her own. The narrator calls this “the face of her fate” and describes the moment as a “Land of Enchantment.” The passage relies on sensory details—cigar smoke, a willow branch, nightingale song—to build an atmosphere of romantic illusion. When Clive breaks the spell by touching her, Leonora reacts with indignation: “How dared you? oh, how dared you?” Her anger is not coy; she explicitly accuses him of insulting her because she is “only the housekeeper’s niece.” This exchange reveals class consciousness and a heroine who will not passively accept advances.

Leonora’s Defiant Voice

Leonora’s response to Clive’s kiss is unusually forceful for a romantic heroine of the period. She does not swoon or blush; she demands, “what cause had I given you to—to think that your caresses could be agreeable to me?” The narrator notes that “all the Lancaster pride flushed into his face” at her rebuke, suggesting that the power dynamic between them is more complex than a simple lord-and-servant hierarchy. The excerpt leaves the outcome of this confrontation unresolved, but it establishes Leonora as a character who will challenge Clive’s assumptions and, by extension, the aunt’s control over his choice.

Structural Hints from the Excerpts

The provided excerpts cover only the first chapter and one later scene, so the overall plot remains unclear. However, the recurrence of water imagery—the “mystic pool” and “enchanted pool”—suggests that reflection and illusion may be thematic motifs. The title Lancaster’s Choice implies that Clive will eventually have to decide between his aunt’s money and his own desires, and Leonora’s defiance in the lake scene positions her as a likely catalyst for that choice. Readers should watch for how the aunt’s ultimatum and the heroine’s pride interact as the story unfolds.

These excerpts offer a focused entry point into a romance built on financial coercion and personal pride. The opening establishes the aunt’s will as the central obstacle, while the lake scene introduces a heroine who refuses to be treated as a subordinate. Readers may find it useful to track how Leonora’s sense of social position evolves and whether Clive’s “choice” ultimately reconciles love with the demands of inheritance.

That gray afternoon, the rain against the window made the quiet ambition of Miller’s heroine feel almost audible, a small struggle mirrored in the shallow water she kept gazing into. Afterwards, I found myself thinking how different that reflective tension was from the salt-air longing in Rose à Charlitte — Background and Themes, a place where the coast itself seemed to hold its breath. One book simply led to the other, like wet streets.