Judith is the third in a series of historical novels set in late 18th-century England written by the Ireland-based author Brian Cleeve.

Like its predecessors, Judith features as its protagonist a young independent-minded woman who tries to make her way in a largely inhospitable and sometimes terrifying world.

Jonathan Mortimer has devoted his adult life, and most of his money, to writing and publishing lengthy treatises on various subjects close to his heart.

Several years earlier, Mortimer suffered a stroke and is confined to bed where he works on his latest project, A Treatise on Just Government.

Meanwhile, his increasingly desperate daughter tries to find ways to keep the small household, including two servants, financially viable.

She refuses the offer Robert Barnabas, son of the smugglers' leader, is in love with Judith and, during one of his nocturnal visits to the farm, he makes his feelings clear.

Now, as his love for Judith brings meaning to his life, he resolves to turn away from smuggling and complete his medical training.

Ostensibly set up to teach its occupants how to be ladies, Mrs. Ware's academy is, in reality, a high class brothel.

After several more months of dreadful hardship, Judith is taken in by a kindly young Christian woman, Miss Westmoreland.

Slowly Judith begins to recover her mental and physical health and a strong bond of friendship forms between the two women.

Jonathan Mortimer: Judith's ailing father who has neglected the family farm to pursue his scholarly writings.

Through Judith's experiences in late nineteenth-century London, the reader is confronted with the horrific reality faced by those who lack the privileges of position and money.