B. M. Croker’s Given in Marriage is a classic novel of Anglo-Indian life and social maneuvering in the late 19th century. The story centers on the D'Arcy-Muir family, who have returned to England from India in a state of genteel poverty. The central concern becomes the marriage prospects of the family's five daughters, a situation fraught with financial anxiety and social ambition. The narrative primarily follows the two eldest sisters: the beautiful and gentle Leonore, who is the family's greatest asset, and the more pragmatic and observant Althea. Their mother, Mrs. D'Arcy-Muir, is determined to see her daughters married well to secure their futures and restore the family's status. The plot unfolds in the drawing-rooms and ballrooms of English country houses and London society, where the daughters are presented as eligible commodities in the marriage market. The novel explores the limited options available to women of this class, for whom a good marriage was the primary, if not the only, respectable career path. Croker masterfully depicts the tensions between romantic inclination and practical necessity, as Leonore attracts the attention of a wealthy but unlikable suitor while potentially overlooking a more genuine, but less affluent, match. With her keen eye for social detail and character, Croker creates a compelling drama of family duty, personal desire, and the complex economics of matrimony in the Victorian era, offering a poignant critique of a system where women were often "given in marriage" with little regard for their own hearts.

Table of Contents:

• Given in marriage. Part 1

• Given in marriage. Part 2

• Given in marriage. Part 3

• Given in marriage. Part 4

• Given in marriage. Part 5

• Given in marriage. Part 6