Esther Waters

Esther Waters is a novel by George Moore first published in 1894. Set in England from the early 1870s onward, the novel is about a young, pious woman from a poorworking-class family who, while working as a kitchen maid, is seduced by another employee, becomes pregnant, is deserted by her lover, and against all odds decides to raise her child as asingle mother. Esther Waters is one of a group of Victorian novels that depict the life of a "fallen woman". Written in a Zola-like naturalistic style, the novel stands out among Moore's publications as the book whose immediate success, it is often regarded as his best novel. Esther Waters is dedicated to T. W. Rolleston.