John Halifax, Gentleman: Nonsuch Classics

John Halifax, Gentleman follows the fortunes of a poor orphan who is befriended by the narrator, Phineas Fletcher, the invalid son of a Quaker tanner in an English provincial town. He raises himself up from his humble beginnings, and the book reflects the changing conditions in England during the late 18th and early 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the middle class altered the social and political complexion of the country. Published in 1856, the book was immensely popular with contemporary readers.