Written in 1898, Helbeck of Bannisdale has as its theme ‘the love between man and woman’ which must inevitably and tragically clash with their personal believes.

Reflecting the religious preoccupations of the period, Mrs Ward takes for her herione, as Charlotte Brontë did in Villette, a young woman whose Catholic lover requires her to accept the role his traditions impose upon women, but like Lucy Snowe, Laura Fountain insist on claiming the freedom of thought, speech and action which she believes to be her right. Intellectually and emotionally rejecting his religious beliefs, Laura, with her ‘most surprising gift of happiness’, is nevertheless drawn to the aloof Alan Helbeck. Yet even their life-enhancing love for each other cannot prevent the coming tragedy.

In her impressive characterization, delicacy of touch and acuteness of observation, Mary Ward justifiably earns her comparison the George Eliot and Charlotte Brontë: but it is her insight into the human heart and her subtle treatment of love and conflict that make this work a classic.