A Terrible Temptation: A Story of To-Day

** "A Terrible Temptation: A Story of To-Day" by Charles Reade is a tale of a man named Richard Bassett, who was cut off from his family's wealth, and his burning desire to get back at his cousin, Sir Charles Bassett, for what he sees as a great injustice, while a lovely young woman named Bella Bruce finds herself in the middle of their conflict, having to choose between them; the story looks at how love and friendship can be twisted by betrayal and how important social status and inheritance are, starting with Richard Bassett's strong feelings of love mixed with anger towards Sir Charles, the book is filled with tension as Richard's internal problems go against Bella's likability, and as Richard and Bella speak, his deep anger about not getting any inheritance becomes obvious, along with her gentle nature, this all leads to disagreements about love and personal choices, and ultimately, the characters' lives are intertwined. **