The Discarded Daughter

On the haunted shores of Chesapeake Bay, where islands, inlets, and secluded estates seem to promise both refuge and ruin, The Discarded Daughter unfolds as a sweeping Gothic family drama of inheritance, romance, and tyranny. At the center stands Mount Calm, the proud Chester estate, where old wealth, local rivalries, and the burden of land shape every life within its walls. Alice Chester, the family's delicate only daughter, becomes the unexpected heiress when her brothers are lost in the Revolution. Raised in seclusion, she finds her heart awakened by the gentle young minister Milton Sinclair, only to have hope darkened by grief, duty, and her father's ruthless ambition. Colonel Chester's determination to force Alice into a marriage of convenience with the formidable General Garnet drives the household toward catastrophe. Her mother's quiet courage offers little protection against a father who confuses power with authority, and a violent confrontation ends in tragedy and death. Yet the novel's sorrowful journey does not end in the grave. In a winter visit to Alice's burial vault, Dr. Hardcastle, Elsie, and Magnus discover that she has been buried alive, and a desperate rescue transforms despair into fragile hope. Rich in atmosphere and emotional intensity, this is a powerful tale of love, conscience, and the struggle for freedom against the claims of family, rank, and fate. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.