Pray You, Sir, Whose Daughter?:

by Helen Hamilton Gardener

To say that Mrs. Foster was cruel, that she lacked sympathy with the unfortunate, or that she was selfish, would be to state only the dark half of a truism that has a wider application than class or sex could give it; a truism whose boundary lines, indeed, are set by nothing short of the ignorance of human beings hedged in by prejudice and handicapped by lack of imagination. So when she sat, with dainty folded hands whose jeweled softness found fitting background on the crimson velvet of her trailing gown, and announced that she could endure everything associated with, and felt deep sympathy for, the poor if it were not for the besetting sin of uncleanliness that found its home almost invariably where poverty dwelt, it would be unjust to pronounce her hard-hearted or base.

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2010

About the author

Helen Hamilton Gardener, born Alice Chenoweth, was an American author, writer, reformer, and public official. She was a strong supporter of woman suffrage and of feminism.

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not recommending this. Just keeping track of my research ... a late 19th century novel focused on age of consent legislation, commentary on class and gender tensions.