Classic fiction

Ruth

by Elizabeth Gaskell

Orphaned Ruth Hilton is a young seamstress when an unequal relationship with wealthy Henry Bellingham leaves her abandoned and pregnant. A compassionate minister and his sister give Ruth and her son a new home under a protected identity, allowing her to build a life of service while fearing exposure. Years later, the return of people connected to her past forces the community to confront how differently it judges male and female wrongdoing. Sorrowful, earnest, and socially challenging, this novel suits readers prepared for Victorian moral debate, single motherhood, mercy, and a heroine whose worth cannot be reduced to the worst moment of her youth.