The Uncle of an Angel 1891

Mr. Hutchinson Port is a meticulously regimented Philadelphia bachelor whose life revolves around rigid routines, meticulous meals, and a devotion to his church pew that stretches back generations. When a distant relative’s death unexpectedly appoints him guardian of his young niece Dorothy, he initially regards the arrangement as a mischievous twist of fate, merely a temporary inconvenience until she reaches her early twenties.

The story follows Port’s humorous attempts to impose his exacting standards on a lively French‑educated young woman who arrives with her own ideas of freedom and adventure. As their contrasting temperaments clash, the novel gently unfolds a portrait of society, family duty, and the surprising ways strangers can reshape one another’s expectations—all delivered with the wit and gentle satire of a late‑Victorian social comedy.