num_pages: 368
description: Kirsteen is the tale of a young woman from an old but impoverished Argyllshire family who escapes her domineering father and seeks her independence. Kirsteen’s options appear to be unpaid drudgery at home, or a loveless marriage. Rejecting both, she escapes to London where she makes a living through her own innate craft and skill. Though scorned by her family for choosing to work as a mantua-maker, Kirsteen becomes highly successful in the life she carves out for herself. Kirsteen is a startlingly modern novel whose powerful voice, narrative drive and ironic exposure of injustice and hypocrisy give a fascinating perspective on women in Victorian society. First published in 1890, and written by Queen Victoria’s favourite novelist Margaret Oliphant, Kirsteen is a deep, rich novel by an author at the height of her powers.
language: English
title: Kirsteen: The Story of a Scotch Family Seventy Years Ago
titlecomplete: Kirsteen: The Story of a Scotch Family Seventy Years Ago
characters: Jean MacGregor, Ronald, Lord John Campbell, Douglas of Drumcarro, Kirsteen Douglas, Anne Douglas, Robbie Douglas, Marg'ret
genres: Fiction, Classics, 19th Century, Historical Fiction, Victorian
ratings_count: 38
places: Glasgow, Scotland, Argyll, Scotland, London, England
publisher: J M Dent & Sons Ltd