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Ruth

Ruth

By: Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
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Delve into the poignant world of Ruth, a social novel that explores the Victorian attitudes towards sin and illegitimacy. This surprisingly compassionate tale focuses on Ruth Hilton, a young seamstress and orphan who faces the harsh realities of society after being seduced and abandoned by the gentleman Henry Bellingham. Alone and pregnant, Ruth finds refuge with a kind minister and his sister, who help her navigate the stigma of her situation by masquerading her as a widow. As she strives to build a respectable life as a governess, her past threatens to unravel everything when Bellingham re-enters her life. Experience a story of resilience, societal judgment, and the quest for redemption.Copyright 19th and 20th Century Fiction
Episodes
  • 036 - The End
    Feb 25 2026
    Delve into the poignant world of Ruth, a social novel that explores the Victorian attitudes towards sin and illegitimacy. This surprisingly compassionate tale focuses on Ruth Hilton, a young seamstress and orphan who faces the harsh realities of society after being seduced and abandoned by the gentleman Henry Bellingham. Alone and pregnant, Ruth finds refuge with a kind minister and his sister, who help her navigate the stigma of her situation by masquerading her as a widow. As she strives to build a respectable life as a governess, her past threatens to unravel everything when Bellingham re-enters her life. Experience a story of resilience, societal judgment, and the quest for redemption.
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    24 mins
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