"The Ordeal of Richard Feverel: A History of a Father and Son" by George Meredith is a novel published in 1859. After his wife abandons him, Sir Austin Feverel raises his son Richard according to "the System," a rigid educational plan designed to control every aspect of the boy's development. When Richard falls in love with Lucy Desborough despite his father's strict supervision, Sir Austin's interference sets off a chain of events that tests whether any system can truly master human passion and desire. (This is an automatically generated summary.)