Mary J. Holmes was a prolific and popular romance novelist of the 19th century. ‘Family pride’ is one of her best works. The story begins with two sisters, one of whom has been allowed to live a little above her means by a weak and foolish mother. This slip allows her to come into the orbit of a rich and elegant bachelor Wilfred who decided to marry her despite her poor family. Her lover is not a hero, but calms his family pride by strictly controlling his young bride and cutting her off from her family. In the meantime, one of his friends is falling in love with the other sister nearly because of her humble strengths. There's a lot more to it than that. Mixed into the narrative is a man who has always loved the pretty sister from a distance, tragic deaths, the ethics of divorce and the Civil War.