[1] First published in 1796, Inchbald's two-volume novel considers the influence of education, social conventions, gender conditioning, and privilege on human behavior.
It is quite a blunt, rather than subtle, attack on the societal structure, along with a critical reflection on a woman's place in society at that time.
Considered a Jacobin novel, Nature and Art traces the connections between the character's personal experiences and larger structures of institutional oppression.
[4] Notably, Nature and Art is an early example of a Romantic era novel with a title of paired opposites, like to the later novel Sense and Sensibility (1811) by Jane Austen.
The story begins with two brothers William (Elder) and Henry, as they leave their native town and travel to London, following the death of their father, a country shopkeeper.
By now the wealthy man has died and William wastes no time returning to take possession of this good fortune.
However, being the elder, a man of literature, William feels contempt at being obliged to a younger illiterate sibling, and is unable to show gratitude towards Henry.
No longer feeling worthy of his brother's company, Henry decides to marry in the hope of finding a companion and friend better suited to his own position.
At first William agrees, however constant exposure to Lady Clementina's vanity and selfishness, causes him to reflect on his previous behaviour, and he proceeds to seek Henry out.
Instead, the natives of the island they travelled to, after hearing him play the violin, have held him and his son, also named Henry, captive for years.
His hand has again become weak, fearful he may not be able to play for much longer, which could put his son in danger, he has managed, with help, to secure safe passage to England for the boy.
She decides to treat Henry Jnr as her own son, for it will excite her friends and she will be viewed as heroic, making her enemies jealous.
Later, when his uncle is angered by the coachman, and dismisses him, Henry questioned why this would be punishment, for the man has had to wait for hours in the cold and rain.
Henry also confuses words and their correct meaning, such as compliments for lies, reserve for pride and war or battle for massacre, which irritate his new family.
Yet Henry believes he has more pride than William Jnr as he will never be able to stoop or act contrary to his feelings, while his cousin gives up his opinion in the face of anyone superior, regardless if they are right.
There attitudes to the opposite sex are also different, William Jnr is extremely attentive, while Henry admires and feel affection for them from a distance.
When the boys are twenty, William Snr purchases a small estate in a village, near Lord and Lady Bendham.
William Jnr becomes attracted to a local girl Agnes, wanting her to become his mistress, while Henry feels a tender regard for the daughter of the village curate Rebecca.
When he leaves at the end of the summer, Agnes falls into a depression, from his cold farewell and guilt from losing her virtue.
William later receives a proposal from his father of marriage to a dependent niece of Lady Bendham, Miss Sedgeley.
A month passes, one morning Henry is walking through the woods, when he hears a groan, through the mist he sees the figure of a female, who runs away.
They call for Henry, who immediately denies Rebecca is the mother, declaring her virtuous, and proceeds to tell the truth of finding the baby.
It is seen by William Snr as an admission of guilt, as punishment for the seduction then lying about it, Henry is banished from his uncle's house.
Agnes still believing she has murdered her baby, and tormented by her lost love, decides to end her life, and returns to the wood.
Unfortunately, her mistress pays her only half the wages she should, She is also continually dissatisfied, that the workers live under a constant fear of dismissal.
Agnes find herself in court with William Jnr as her judge, he fails to recognise the girl he previous seduced.
The article also tells how Agnes, the condemned woman, wrote to the judge who had given the death sentence, requesting his protection of her son.
Henry Jnr is fearful whether his love Rebecca is alive or not, while his father's hoping that his brother William Snr, will receive them with kindness, and not with a reserved manner.
They discover Lady Clementina is dead four years, from catching a cold while wearing skimpy fashionable dress.
While lamenting one night, Henry Jnr tells how he used to consider poverty a curse, however after associating with the rich and mixing with the poor, he has undergone a complete change of mind.