The Dust of Conflict

A borrowed gun and a rare holiday expose the distance between Bernard Appleby's prospects and those of his privileged kinsman, Anthony Palliser. Appleby works in a country solicitor's office, but his steady eye and quick decisions suggest abilities suited to more adventurous work. Their walk home from a day's shooting leads to talk of debts, inheritance and Tony's engagement to Violet Wayne. The English country setting places these private doubts among estates, family connections and expectations of money.

Published in 1907, Harold Bindloss's adventure novel also takes in Cuba during the revolution of 1895 to 1898. In the English scenes, American visitor Nettie Harding meets Violet and becomes interested in the Palliser family's history. Conversations about ancestry and manners sit alongside Appleby's desire for a different occupation. Readers interested in historical adventure can find both the pressures of social position and the appeal of taking a chance beyond familiar surroundings.