The Shuttle

In Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Shuttle, a web of destiny seems to stretch across the Atlantic, binding America and Europe in the wake of social upheaval, old hatreds, and new ambitions. At its center is the Vanderpoel family, whose rise from shrewd, relentless trading to immense wealth makes them symbols of American power, public fascination, and moral debate. Rosalie Vanderpoel, raised in luxury in a famed New York mansion, becomes the family's most prized thread when she marries Sir Nigel Anstruthers, an English baronet whose title and manor-house mystique still dazzle New York society. Yet Nigel's inherited rank masks vanity, resentment, and calculation, and the novel sharply satirizes the old practice of sending impoverished younger sons to America in search of heiresses. Rosalie's sharper sister Bettina quickly senses the danger he represents, while her own generous spirit leads her to transform the life of old Mrs. Welden, a poor woman struggling to preserve her dignity. Against this backdrop of romance, class conflict, and transatlantic intrigue, the story tracks changing ideas of money, marriage, and power as old world privilege meets new world force. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.