The Uncle of an Angel / 1891

A crotchety middle-aged bachelor unexpectedly becomes guardian to his late sister’s attractive and resourceful daughter, whose taste for dancing, genealogy, travel and a yacht cruise repeatedly conflicts with his conservative habits and bilious anxieties. She deploys charm and subtle strategy, enlisting friends and social occasions to secure small freedoms while he resists on principle. Humorous episodes at a seaside casino, aboard a yacht, and in local society trace the push and pull between prudence and pleasure, revealing character sketches, gentle satire of manners, and the gradual softening of the guardian as familial bonds persist alongside the ward’s growing independence.