Adeline Mowbray; or, The Mother and Daughter

by Amelia Opie

"Adeline Mowbray; or, The Mother and Daughter" by Amelia Opie is a novel published in 1804. Inspired by Mary Wollstonecraft's unconventional life, it follows a woman who rejects marriage on philosophical grounds, choosing instead to live with her lover as his equal. Her idealistic beliefs clash violently with social expectations, leading to condemnation, abandonment, and suffering. The novel explores what happens when individual conviction confronts society's rigid norms about women, marriage, and respectability.