Uncle Silas

J. Sheridan Le Fanu

Uncle Silas — The story is narrated by Maud Ruthyn, an heiress living with her reclusive father, Austin Ruthyn. She learns about her uncle Silas’s reputation, marred by gambling and the death of a man to whom he owed a large gambling debt. The man apparently killed himself in a locked room in Silas’s house. In order to clear the Ruthyn name of the rumors of Silas’ past, Austin’s will appoints Silas as Maud’s guardian after Austin’s death. The will also states that Silas would inherit the fortune left to Maud should she die while under his guardianship. Maud befriends her cousin Millicent and quickly adjusts to life under Silas’ care, despite his often frightening demeanor. Although Silas has proclaimed that he has reformed his life through his Christian faith, Maud becomes increasingly suspicious of her uncle’s motives as life for her becomes increasingly unpleasant. The story of Maud Ruthyn and her uncle Silas evolved through multiple iterations, beginning with the short story “A Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess” in 1839, before ultimately becoming the three-volume novel published in 1864. This ebook reproduces a revised, two-volume version released a year later.

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