The Weaver's Daughter

When Nicholas Stockton returned from the Napoleonic Wars, he did not expect to be thrust into running the family's textile mill after the untimely death of his grandfather. As he learns the business and makes plans to modernize the mill as his grandfather had wished, he realizes management has not done well by the employees. Kate Dearborne's family have been weavers for generations. Her father, a feared yet successful businessman, will not embrace the idea of change, nor will he entertain any of his children working or falling in love with the competition, the Stocktons. Yet as Kate and Nicholas encounter each other at various functions, they discover that the lies they have been told about their respective families are groundless. Ladd (A Stranger at Fellsworth) updates the Romeo and Juliet story and transplants it to 1812 Yorkshire, England. Her contrasting portraits of the industrialist Stocktons vs. the artisan Dearbornes highlights the issues that arose with the Industrial Revolution.