Only a girl-wife

About this book

Only a girl-wife by Ruth Lamb is a domestic novel written in the late 19th century. It traces the adoption, rise, and romance of Andrew Crawford—a gifted young doctor raised by the kindly country physician Dr. Fereday—and his courtship and marriage to the sheltered Ida Carnelly, sister of Viscount Carnelly, amid class expectations, a jealous sister-in-law, and quiet questions of faith. Set around the picturesque home of Steynes-Cote and the market town of Shelverton, it promises village-life detail, moral reflection, and the making of a “girl‑wife” within home and community.

The opening of the novel introduces Shelverton and Steynes-Cote, where childless Dr. and Mrs. Fereday adopt their nephew Andrew; he thrives, qualifies brilliantly, then seeks broader experience as an army surgeon in India. There he meets the colonel’s beautiful sister Ida, whose life is soured by the vain, competitive Lady Carnelly; after a humiliating evening, Andrew comforts Ida and they confess their love, winning the colonel’s cautious blessing. News of Mrs. Fereday’s fatal accident summons Andrew home; he leaves the army, returns to a grieving, ailing uncle who settles him at the practice and urges an early marriage. With the regiment’s return, Lady Carnelly’s opposition falters; Andrew and Ida marry quietly, and he discovers her inexperience in matters of faith even as she proves devoted and tender. The section closes with a sketch of Shelverton’s bustling market and the inviting, rambling Steynes-Cote awaiting its new mistress.