Jilted‪!‬

Jilted! or, My Uncle's Scheme is a sharp Victorian tale of romantic disappointment, family intrigue, and the comic warfare of marriage politics. In this second volume of a three-part story, a calculating uncle's designs threaten to steer love toward profit, pushing the narrator toward Theresa while standing in the way of his attachment to Conny. After a sleepless night, he arrives at Grove End to find the household unsettled, reading every glance and silence for signs that Conny may yet return his feelings. The novel blends emotional suspense with witty social critique, especially in the narrator's exchanges with his aunt, who condemns the mercenary logic of treating marriage as a business arrangement and appears ready to support him against her husband's scheme. Another tense, playful scene brings him face to face with Theresa, whose odd behavior and small deception have already made her both suspect and appealing; she asks for forgiveness and a good opinion, only for the uncle to burst in with comic exuberance, turning the moment into a teasing celebration of their new "good friends" status. Throughout, the story balances domestic drama, romantic unease, and satire of money, control, and the pressure to marry well. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.