An Altruist

In the glittering rooms and public spaces of London, Wilfrid Bertram wages war on property, privilege, and the complacency of the rich. Armed with fervent lectures on altruism, collectivism, vegetarianism, and universal labor, he insists that money, inherited wealth, and class distinction are the roots of social injustice and must give way to a new order of shared duty and common good. But Bertram's radical vision is delivered to an audience of witty aristocrats, skeptical relatives, and practical minds who answer philosophy with irony, banter, and laughter. As the debate widens to Parliament, finance, art, and the meaning of civilized life, his uncompromising idealism is repeatedly tested by the messy realities of servants, tea, oysters, publication, public opinion, and politics. Even his attempts at social reform are undercut by comic disorder, from drunken associates and police intervention to the intrusion of flowers, invitations, and everyday obligations. Around him, figures like Cicely Seymour, Lord Marlow, and Mrs. Brown sharpen the novel's tensions between sincerity and snobbery, compassion and patronage, theory and lived experience. The result is a sharp social satire in which reform, class, and moral conviction collide in sparkling dialogue and uneasy truth. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.