A Skeleton in the Closet

by E.D.E.N. Southworth

A rivalry exists between Brandon Coyle of Caveland, and Valdimir Desparde of Cloudland for the hand of the lovely Lady Arielle Montjoie.
Written by Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth (1819–1899) and first Copyright in 1878. 35 Chapters; 308 pages; 103,000 words.

Chapters:
- The Conspiracy.
- The Bridegroom Elect.
- “The Most Unhappy of Men.”
- John Beaue, Baron Beaudevere.
- The Bride.
- From Smiles to Tears.
- Some Light on a Dark Subject.
- Brother and Sister.
- The Rivals.
- In the Miston Rectory.
- Arielle.
- Between Two Loves.
- A Fatal Plot.
- Net’s Folly.
- The Evil Pair at Work.
- Skol.
- Net’s Fate.
- The Discovery.
- Lost Hope.
- A Stormy Interview.
- The Rector’s Return.
- The Father’s Judgment.
- Up and Doing.
- Gone Home.
- The Young Wife’s Doom.
- Lady Arielle’s Suitor.
- Arielle’s Decision.
- “The Bird’s Nest”
- Kit’s Marriage Lines.
- A Shock.
- The Shadow of Fate.
- A Crisis.
- A Catastrophe.
- The Fatal Dinner Party.
- The Earl’s Will and the Lady’s Will.

310 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1878

About the author

Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte (aka "E.D.E.N.") Southworth was an American writer of more than 60 novels in the latter part of the 19th century. She was probably the most widely read author of that era.

Some of her earliest works appeared in The National Era, the newspaper that printed Uncle Tom's Cabin. Like her friend Harriet Beecher Stowe, she was a supporter of social change and women's rights. Her first novel, Retribution, a serial for the National Era, published in book form in 1846, was so well received that she gave up teaching and became a regular contributor to various periodicals, especially the New York Ledger.

Her best known work was The Hidden Hand. Most of her novels deal with the Southern United States during the post-American Civil War era.