The other big holiday book, and much better than Dickens.
Set in Ireland around the time of the potato famine, it involves two aristocratic families, one with an eligible if poor daughter, the other with a son and a cousin both of whom aspire for the daughter’s hand.
Cousin is initially successful in his suit, but rejected by mother, who fancies him like mad but whose lack of means (only?) lead to his rejection. She then accepts the son, with maternal approval, but his means disappear due to the scurrilous plot, by a couple of villains. A love tussle ensues, and the son is finally vindicated.
It is all a bit East Enders really, but with a far more coherent narrative than (I think) Copperfield, and mother’s infatuation with cousin is pretty proto-Lady Chatterley.
Maybe I am being unfair on Dickens, his plots aren’t East Enders-ish?
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