Chapter 1 Summary

This novel is considered to be one of the great classic Gothic romances, falling into the same category as Rebecca and Jane Eyre. It is also the Cinderella story of a young girl from modest circumstances who realizes her dreams and also overcomes great tragedy after she marries a wealthy, powerful man.

The story begins one afternoon in May 1844, when a letter is delivered to the Wells' farmhouse in upstate New York, something that only happens about three times a year. Miranda, who is eighteen, is the first to read the letter, and its message has a profound affect on her.

Ideally, she would have been doing some chores or attending to her baby sister, Charity, at the time, but instead, she is in her secret "quiet place", the family burial grounds, devouring the romantic novel she is reading, The Beautiful Adulteress, as...