Rhoda Fleming

George Meredith turns from wit to something starker here, telling the story of two farmer’s daughters from the Kentish countryside. Gentle Dahlia leaves home for London and falls under the spell of a young gentleman who ruins and then abandons her, while her fierce younger sister Rhoda fights to protect the family’s honor and force a reckoning. Around them move a moneylender’s honest son and the callous men of a higher class who treat women as disposable. Meredith takes aim at the Victorian double standard that punishes the seduced and excuses the seducer, building toward a grim and moving conclusion. The plot is melodrama, but the moral anger behind it is real. Free to read as a PDF or EPUB.