Confinement

By Katharine McMahon

In a disinterring of the societal and political atmospheres that shape the lives of people, the story centres around Bess Hardimon and Sarah Beckett, born over a century apart and both eking out careers in education.

Bess Hardimon battles against restrictive Victorian values as the headmistress of Priors Heath on the Greater London border. She refashions the school in the face of opposition from its governors who view intellectual stimulation of young middle-class women as ill-advised and are opposed to the admittance of girls from trade backgrounds. Bess, consumed by duty to her school, forfeits personal fulfilment.