More than two decades after leaving for America, Mr. Bennet’s long-lost brother, Collin, returns to England with a fortune drawn from gold found on his land in North Carolina.
Collin Bennet does not live long after reaching home, and the inheritance then passes to his nieces.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their daughters—Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia—each meet that sudden change in a different way.
The account is told mainly from the perspectives of Thomas Bennet and Elizabeth, with shorter stretches centered on Mary and Kitty.
Through Elizabeth’s familiar good humor, the household’s new wealth brings drama, sadness, a measure of romance, and a good deal of growing up.
