Lady Good-for-Nothing: A Man's Portrait of a Woman

"Lady Good-for-Nothing: A Man's Portrait of a Woman" by Arthur Quiller-Couch is a story set in the early 1900s that follows Captain Oliver Vyell, a customs collector in Boston, his son Dicky, and a girl named Ruth Josselin. The book explores how social class, right and wrong, and complicated relationships affect people, using Vyell's experiences to show this. The story starts with the arrival of the Collector and his son in a fancy coach, creating a sense of tension between nature and human life, as young Dicky discovers the ocean's beauty and danger. Vyell is shown as a confident man who is also somewhat puzzled by the people around him, while an encounter with an old man and Ruth on the beach suggests how their lives are linked. The story sets the scene for an exploration of goodness, reputation, and who people are in a world that is quickly changing, as the characters find their place within the rules of society.