Violet Tempest grows up in a happy household, the beloved only child of amiable and generous parents. She and her father spend their days riding and hunting through the old forest that surrounds their home, and Violet (called "Vixen" for her auburn hair and manner) is strong of heart and body, not intellectual but very sensible. The only possible flaw is that her best friend Rorie's mother, the ambitious Lady Jane, does not approve of their close friendship. But then Violet's father dies, throwing Violet into deep mourning and leaving her in the care of a foolish widow. Captain Winstanely first courts Violet, but she takes an immediate dislike to him, and so instead he marries her mother, Pamela. This marriage to a younger, poorer man encourages Pamela's worst aspects, her vanity and inability to stand her ground. She sinks into a mere diaphanous shadow in the household, while Violet and the Captain struggle against each other: the Captain trying to save money for himself through smart economies, Violet trying to maintain the old ways of her father (old but beloved servants, open handed generosity to the village, etc). Meanwhile, Rorie has given in to his mother and betrothed himself to Lady Mable. Eventually all comes out right: Mable finds a man whose ambition and interests match hers and breaks her engagement to Rorie, Rorie is free to marry Violet, and the Captain loses both his wife and her income and leaves the country to marry some other heiress.

It's all exceedingly pleasant and diverting, told with a wonderful mixture of light ironic humor and sincere good will. The descriptions of the Violet's forest are captivating, and her love for it is my favorite theme in this book. There's also a running question of the meaning and legacy of people's lives. Miss Skipworth devotes herself to creating a universal religion that will bring glory to her dying name; Lord Mallow to Ireland (though he couldn't bear to stay there more than few weeks out of the year), Lady Mable to writing immortal verse in order to prove she's worth more than other women. And there are the characters who seek more physical and immediate purpose: Pamela and the Captain to physical comfort and the notice of their peers, the Duke to growing gigantic turnips and cattle. Violet and Rorie, meanwhile, each suffer long periods of feeling idle and useless. It is only when they are together that their lives have meaning, and that is of a purely personal sort; they seek only to be happy with themselves, to feel that they've behaved well toward others and love someone worthy. It's a sweet turn on the idle rich, and I quite liked it. In fact, I liked this much better than Braddon's more famous and gothic work, [b:Lady Audley's Secret|588747|Lady Audley's Secret|Mary Elizabeth Braddon|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1176065001s/588747.jpg|1294338]. I think the writing here is at least as fine, but without all the annoying sexism. ( )

This was a fairly enjoyable Victorian Sensation novel. A rather tame one, by Braddon's standards. I might have enjoyed it more if the heroine, Vixen, hadn't been such a rude sourpuss. Yes, it's sad that your dad died, but really, after two years, you need to get over it. Don't mope around, telling everyone that your life is basically over, that you have no happiness left.

It also didn't help that the introduction was so misleading. It stated that Vixen saves her childhood friend from a loveless marriage. Nope, he was saved because his fiancee left him for another man. Vixen had nothing to do with it. Whoops, spoiler. ( )