The doctor's daughter
by Catharine Shaw
"The Doctor's Daughter" by Catharine Shaw is a novel written in the late 19th century. It centers on Ruth Brown, a physician’s sheltered, motherless daughter whose quiet life is disrupted by her father’s new partner and his young wife, and by the unexpected arrival of cousins from India—changes that test her loneliness, pride, and views on faith. The story blends domestic drama with gentle Christian themes as new friendships, family duties, and inner growth reshape Ruth’s world. The opening of the story follows Ruth at The Firs, tending her overworked father and bracing against solitude on the eve of her seventeenth birthday. Dr. Arthur Arundel arrives, and Ruth quickly befriends his warm, devout wife, Mary, whose candid faith unsettles but attracts her. Without consulting Ruth, Dr. Brown invites his ailing brother’s children from India, provoking a painful quarrel that only begins to heal after Mary prays with Ruth. The children—steady Heston, fierce Judith, and fragile Norman with his ayah—arrive; a missing letter explains Norman’s muteness after a terrifying elephant incident, and household tensions ease as sleeping arrangements and care are settled. A village patient’s moving “dream” of salvation softens Dr. Brown’s heart, and father and daughter fully reconcile, both newly humbled and comforted. The doctors quietly plan Norman’s care, while a tranquil scene by the riverside shows Mary and her twin brother Vincent awaiting Ruth, suggesting new bonds and steady hope ahead. (This is an automatically generated summary.)