The Ayrshire Legatees

A legacy arrives from India—and Mrs. Pringle’s first thought is to order the family’s mourning clothes, bargaining hard over the servants’ black print. Before the Pringles can claim a penny, the whole family is bound for London.

In John Galt’s early-nineteenth-century Scotland, a country minister, his practical wife, their romantic daughter Rachel and their newly qualified lawyer son set out from Garnock to settle Dr. Pringle’s inheritance. Their progress unfolds in letters: Janet’s brisk instructions give way to Rachel’s stormy reflections on the road, the sea and the bustling port of Greenock, where even a dance hall is held fast by a lawsuit. The family must navigate unfamiliar cities and the promise of sudden wealth—with very different ideas of what matters most. Will the legacy bring the Pringles fortune, or merely fresh complications?

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