The Islands Pharisees

The novel explores the stark contrasts of Edwardian England through the eyes of Dick Shelton, who, despite his engagement to Antonia Dennant, encounters the vagrant Ferrand. This meeting challenges his comfortable existence and reveals the hypocrisy of society. Seeking solace in rural Oxfordshire, Shelton hopes to find happiness with Antonia, but their bourgeois life is constrained by societal norms, and Ferrand's influence looms large, prompting a deeper reflection on values and identity.