Plot summary
The novel is set in Wanley, in the English Midlands, and in London. Wanley is a small village in a beautiful valley. Belwick, an industrial town, is nearby. The Eldon family are the historic owners of Wanley and live in Wanley Manor. They have fallen on hard times, and the manor and surrounding land are now owned by the self-made industrialist Richard Mutimer. Mutimer is a political conservative and has friendly relations with the Eldon family. The Waltham family also live in Wanley. It is assumed Hubert Eldon will inherit Mutimer's estate, and that he and Adela Waltham will marry.
At the start of the novel, old Richard Mutimer has recently died. No will is found and so he is assumed to have died intestate. A distant relative, also called Richard Mutimer, inherits his fortune. The latter Mutimer is a young, lower-class, socialist working-man
Mutimer decides to use his inheritance to set up New Wanley, an industrial settlement conducted on socialist principles. However, his new wealth and power serve to highlight the defects of character that he brings from his working-class origin. He begins to treat his workers harshly, and abandons Emma Vine, a girl of his own station to whom he has been engaged. Emma's sister, Jane, dies.
Mutimer marries Adela Waltham, an upper-middle-class woman (who does not love him) and stands for Parliament. Adela falls pregnant but the baby dies in childbirth. Mutimer's downfall begins when Adela finds the presumed-destroyed will of his relative. The will states that nearly the entire estate shall pass to the upper-class Hubert Eldon. Mutimer wants to destroy the will but Adela persuades him not to, and the money goes to the rightful heir. Eldon has New Wanley demolished. Richard and Adela Mutimer move to London, to live in relative poverty. Meanwhile, a more radical socialist movement led by "Comrade Roodhouse" comes to rival Mutimer's grouping. Roodhouse's party vehemently attacks Mutimer, in particular by asserting that he wrongfully accused Emma Vine of immorality.
Adela Mutimer increasingly loathes her husband. She develops a close relationship and infatuation with Stella Westlake. Emma Vine's other sister, Kate Clay, becomes an alcoholic and neglects her children, forcing Emma to care for them. Richard's sister, Alice, marries Willis Rodman, who is later revealed to be a fraudster and bigamist. Mutimer's younger brother, Harry, becomes a criminal and vagrant.
Mutimer starts another populist movement in London's East End. This has some genuine impact on poor people's lives and Mutimer becomes a popular speaker. But Mutimer is tricked into investing his supporters' money in a fraudulent company. After the fraud is revealed, Mutimer is killed by a stone thrown by a demonstrator after a meeting at which his followers turn against him.
At the end of the novel, Adela Waltham marries Hubert Eldon.
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