Hester is a novel of Victorian life, set in a provincial banking town where character is measured, like credit, by bonds of trust. At its center stands Catherine Vernon, the formidable matriarch who once saved the family bank, and her brilliant young kinswoman, Hester, whose intelligence and moral ardor chafe at the limits of gratitude and dependence. Oliphant's poised omniscience, edged with irony and ethical seriousness, anatomizes drawing rooms and countinghouses alike, mapping a web of rumor, reputation, and risk that culminates in a searching trial of loyalty, work, and women's authority. Mrs. Oliphant-Margaret Oliphant Wilson Oliphant-was a prolific Scottish novelist and critic who supported an extended family by her pen and wrote for decades for Blackwood's Magazine. Her life of precarious professionalism, bereavement, and close observation of middle-class institutions informs Hester's preoccupations with responsibility, prudence, and the possibility of female stewardship outside marriage. Readers who prize the moral intelligence of George Eliot and the social-comic acuity of Trollope will find in Hester a bracing companion: a study of gendered power, finance, and feeling that still speaks to modern economies of care and credit. It is ideal for courses on Victorian realism and for any reader seeking unsentimental depth. Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable-distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.