Ruth Hall

The heroine of the book. She is a quiet beauty who defies the rules of conventional society. Ruth becomes a widow with two young children at a very young age. Her family refuses to offer her much support, so she turns to writing as a means of making a living. Ruth creates a very good life for herself and her children, supporting them through a career as an author and a journalist.

Ruth is respectable and reserved throughout most of the book, but does eventually give fiery responses to Mrs. Hall and Mr. Tibbetts. She is a strong woman under her quiet demeanor. Many of the villains in the book underestimate her wit and her strength. Mrs. Hall wrongly assumes Ruth must be a frivolous, dimwitted doll, because she is a beautiful woman. Mr. Lescom and Mr. Tibbetts wrongly assume they can walk all over her because...