The Shadow of a Life

Catalog Note This is volume three of *The Shadow of a Life*, a serialized domestic novel by Beryl Hope, published in London by W. H. Allen & Co. in 1880. The narrative centers on a young woman named Ella Hamilton who, after her mother's death on Christmas Day, discovers family secrets through a miniature portrait her father sends her. The story unfolds through conversations with family acquaintances: Ella learns that her father Malcolm Edmund married against his grandfather's wishes, having chosen a woman of inferior social rank rather than a suitable match. Lady Barthwick, an old family friend, recognizes the portrait and gradually reveals details of this scandal—the private London marriage and her grandfather's distress upon learning of it. Throughout, Ella seeks to resolve the mystery of her family's estrangement and her father's unacknowledged position. The narrative includes domestic scenes, romantic tension involving a young man named Claude, and the protagonist's emotional investment in clearing her father's name.