Henrietta Temple: A Love Story

About the book

Ferdinand Armine inherits an impressive family name but little freedom from financial anxiety. Extravagance deepens the problem, and marriage to his wealthy cousin Katherine Grandison appears to offer a way out. Then he meets Henrietta Temple, whose presence transforms that practical arrangement into an emotional crisis. Concealment and conflicting promises draw other people into the consequences of his choices. Disraeli sets the romance among country houses, fashionable society, and the habits of an aristocracy trying to preserve its position. His narrative gives full force to the glamour of sudden love while repeatedly returning to the money and expectations that make it difficult to act honestly. Affection must contend with obligations that cannot simply be wished away.

• Love and obligation
• Debt and status
• Secrecy and trust

Why read it

Read a passionate society romance in which financial dependence makes emotional freedom unusually precarious.

English novel by Benjamin Disraeli