Anthony Trollope was a prolific and popular English novelist who simultaneously maintained a successful career as a civil servant in the post office. His Barsetshire novels are regarded by many as his masterpiece and feature a gallery of recurring and memorable characters. This little gem of a novella manages to include a number of the same themes found in the longer novels in a much more compact form. Young Bessie falls in love with a man "above her station" and, although the love is returned, the social implications lead to many trials and tribulations before true love conquers all.