Her father's income and savings have been dissipated to pay for the extravagances of her brother, who subsequently committed suicide.

Since her father has no living sons, his estate, which is entailed, will pass upon his death to a distant cousin, Will Belton.

Aylmer is impeccable in his manners, smooth, urbane, well-read, and a member of Parliament; compared to him, Belton is awkward and unpolished.

Clara is duly appalled by her friend's past immorality, but cannot bring herself to cast off someone who has come to depend on her friendship.

Pressed relentlessly on the subject by Lady Aylmer, she declares an end to her engagement and returns to Somersetshire, where she accepts the hospitality of the Askertons.

Only after Mrs. Askerton and Will's sister Mary Belton persuade her that it would be unjust to withhold her affection from Will can she bring herself to put aside her scruples and accept him.

The Belton Estate was written shortly after Can You Forgive Her?, and the two novels have a principal theme in common: a woman trying to decide between two suitors, neither ineligible but differing greatly in their desirable and undesirable qualities.

Captain Aylmer, when he heard the hearty tone of the girl’s answer, already began almost to doubt whether it was wise on his part to devote the innermost bin of his cellar to wine that was so cheap.

[6] The novel was published in book form by Chapman & Hall in December 1865, with a date of 1866 on the title page.

[8][9] More recently, an edition with an introduction by John Halperin was published in 1923; it was re-released in paperback by Oxford University Press in 1986.

In his 1883 autobiography, he wrote: "It is readable, and contains scenes which are true to life; but it has no peculiar merits, and will add nothing to my reputation as a novelist.