A Valiant Ignorance; vol. 1 of 3 A Novel in Three Volumes

"A Valiant Ignorance" by Mary Angela Dickens is a story about Hermia Romayne, a confident woman who has her life turned upside down when her husband, William, kills himself after being revealed as a con man. The book shows Hermia dealing with her husband's shame, her jumbled feelings, and how society sees her because of what happened. The story starts in a fancy hotel in Nice, where Mrs. Romayne is eating dinner all by herself. She seems like she knows the world and easily handles social situations, but she keeps glancing at letters that show more about her private life. Things get serious when it's revealed that her husband is dead and that she must handle the effects of what he did and how society now views her. The people around her, like hotel guests and friends who don't really care about her problems, show how much pressure women like her faced in that time, and it sets the scene for a story full of lies, scandals, and how one woman tries to stay strong.