There & Back

"There & Back" by George MacDonald is a story set in the late 1800s, centered on Sir Wilton Lestrange's marriage to Lady Lestrange, a woman shrouded in mystery, and the tangled relationships within their family, especially their son, Richard Lestrange. The novel explores the complicated themes of love, regret, and the fallout from family ties, highlighting the stark differences among the characters. At the beginning we learn that societal judgment and personal unhappiness surround Sir Wilton and Lady Lestrange's marriage, highlighting Sir Wilton's estrangement from his spouse and their newborn who he sees as a disappointing legacy. After Lady Lestrange’s death after childbirth, the child is kidnapped by the nurse Jane Tuke who hopes of protecting him from the cold reception anticipated from his father and stepmother. The initial story reveals the strain between family duties and what society expects, along with the difficulties of characters who love deeply but suffer from social contempt.