
Transcribed from the 1896 Smith, Elder and Co. edition by David Price, email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk.
In the bleak winter of 1836, a grieving widow sits alone beside her late husband’s bed, the echo of Christmas bells mingling with a lingering sense of loss. Lizzie Leigh has spent years grappling with a marriage that mixed devotion and silent rebellion, and now his final, forgiving words stir a restless mixture of remorse and hope. Her sorrow‑worn face is framed by the bleak moors outside, a reminder of the life she once imagined and the quiet desolation that has settled over the household.
Her two sons, Will and Tom, do their best to bring warmth back into the home, setting a modest tea and offering to read the Bible aloud. When Tom reads the Prodigal Son, a flicker of light passes over Lizzie’s eyes, and she begins to recite the verses to herself, hinting that the echo of forgiveness might yet soften the hard edges of her past.
Language
en
Duration
~1 hours (68K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
Feb 1, 2001
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1810–1865
A sharp-eyed Victorian novelist, she wrote with warmth and honesty about factory towns, family life, and the pressures of class and poverty. Her books, including Mary Barton, Cranford, and North and South, still feel lively because they care so deeply about ordinary people.
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