Dawn

This classic debut novel is a dramatic Victorian-era family saga of love and greed from the author of the Allan Quatermain series. Brantham Abbey has been in the Caresfoot family since the reign of King Henry VIII, after a knight sold the property to one of their ancestors. The current head of the household is "Devil" Caresfoot, and through his fifty years of leadership, the family has come to live opulently. But all that can change . . . On his own, Devil has raised two boys: his son, Philip, and his nephew, George—the product of a secret marriage between his simple-minded brother and a scheming housemaid. Devil has every intention of passing his estate on to Philip. But as George grows older, he proves to be every bit his mother's son, and Philip believes George is out to ruin him . . . Twenty years later, George is cunning as ever, and Philip has even more hardships to endure, but now his daughter is also at risk . . .