"A Dark Night's Work" by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell is a novel published in 1863. When a country lawyer's attempts to rise above his station lead to financial ruin and alcoholism, a violent confrontation results in death. His daughter Ellinor helps conceal the terrible act, binding her to a dark secret that will haunt her for fifteen years. This psychological tale explores how one moment of violence ripples through lives, destroying love, ambition, and peace of mind. (This is an automatically generated summary.)