Beautiful but poor

"Beautiful but Poor" by Julia Edwards is a story set in the late 1800s that centers on Hattie Butler, a stunning and penniless young woman whose hard work in a bindery barely covers her boarding-house rent. A glimmer of intrigue appears when Hattie starts getting mysterious letters from California, suggesting a long-lost history and maybe even love. Hattie navigates her difficult life and the friendships she forms while living in a worn-down boarding house run by the ill-tempered Miss Scrimp, along with other working girls. Miss Scrimp grows obsessed with Hattie's letters, fearing they could shake up her ordered world, and is one of the opening tensions. Hattie’s quiet beauty, relentless work ethic, and the fragile bonds of friendship forged in the grim boarding house setting are core to the story as she faces not only poverty but also the unsettling interest of others.