A Romantic Young Lady

Virginia grows up in a strange balance of privilege and restraint, shaped by two very different aunts, a severe governess, and a father who hides from her the fact that she is an heiress. Bookish, self-controlled, and inwardly romantic, she reaches young womanhood with little experience of society or men, yet with a vivid imagination and a fierce independence of mind. At the start of her first season, her father finally reveals her vast inheritance and begins training her to think like a responsible woman of wealth, warning her that money brings both power and danger. As Virginia enters society, her beauty and fortune make her a sensation, but she is drawn most deeply to Roger Dale, a charming and idealistic young man who seems to share her longing for something nobler than fashionable convention. Family members distrust him, and their suspicions force Virginia to confront her own lack of practical knowledge and her uneasy place between romance and responsibility. Caught between admiration, gossip, and moral scrutiny, she must decide how to use her fortune, her judgment, and her heart. Along the way, she also faces the unsettling passion of artist Paul Barr, whose obsession with her beauty turns dangerous. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.