The only novel by journalist and feminist Harriet Martineau , Deerbrook is set in a tranquil English village in the early 19th century. Two orphaned sisters, Hester and Margaret Ibbotson, come to stay with their cousins, the Grey family.
Romances develop between the sisters and the two most eligible men in the village.
The novel also contains feminist sentiments, expressed mainly by Maria, the crippled governess , who protests against the restricted opportunities available to middle-class women. Governesses The Bloomsbury Dictionary of English Literature 2. Bloomsbury Biographical Dictionary of Quotations 3. Bloomsbury Biographical Dictionary of Quotations 4. The Penguin Biographical Dictionary of Women 5.