Margaret Dashwood : or, Interference

Margaret Dashwood, the youngest of three sisters, watches the world with calm patience and a keen ear. After her father's death, the family leaves their Sussex estate for a modest cottage near Exeter, and thirteen‑year‑old Margaret learns the sting of reduced means while clinging to the memory of her father's home. She finds herself most at ease beside her spirited sister Marianne, whose dramatic readings fill their new rooms, and she quietly observes the measured grace of elder sister El Elinor, whose sensible counsel often feels distant.

In this new setting Margaret becomes a steady presence for her grieving mother and a playful companion to her little nephew, Harry. Her quiet resilience earns the tentative approval of the new owner of their former estate, while she navigates the awkwardness of a strained relationship with the family’s distant relatives. Through gentle humor and thoughtful reflection, Margaret begins to shape her own place in a world reshaped by loss and modesty.