Jilted‪!‬

Jilted! or My Uncle's Scheme begins as a sharp, lightly comic novel of manners, following a young narrator whose easy life in provincial France has been shaped by his handsome, idle army-major father and by his own long resistance to adulthood. He drifts through school, smoking, billiards, whist, and flirtation in Longueville-sur-mer until a letter from England upends the routine: an uncle offers him a place as a banker's clerk and summons him into a future of work, family duty, and self-respect. What follows is a witty clash between luxury and labor, vanity and practicality, as the narrator is forced to confront the humiliations of earning a living. In England, the story turns into a social comedy of family introductions, romantic hopes, and class-conscious observation. At Grove End and in the bank household, the narrator meets his dry but affectionate uncle, kindly aunt, and the captivating Conny Hargrave, whose intelligence and wit quickly match his own. As he travels through the countryside, visits the family bank, and exchanges teasing literary banter, he finds himself caught between self-satisfied daydreams, rivalry with the smooth Mr. Curling, and the unsettling possibility that love, ambition, and belonging may be far more complicated than he imagined. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.