Eve's ransom

"One of the foremost fiction writers in the genre of Victorian realism, George Gissing wrote several of the most notable novels of the era, including New Grub Street and Born in Exile. The short novel Eve's Ransom is a classic story of misbegotten love wherein an impressionable young man falls for -- and attempts desperately to win over -- a woman who appears to be all wrong for him."@en
"Eve Madeley, a highly educated but poor bookkeeper, arouses the interest of Maurice Hilliard, an architect and inventor, who tries to sweep her off her feet. Though he's hardly better off financially then she, he persuades her to accompany him to Paris. Considered one of Gissing's best, this 1895 novel explores money and marriage with unusual honesty and realism."@en
"The short novel Eve's Ransom is a classic story of misbegotten love wherein an impressionable young man falls for--and attempts desperately to win over--a woman who appears to be all wrong for him."@en
"The next morning passed in restless debate with himself. He did not cross the way to call upon Eve: the thought of speaking with her on the doorstep of a lodging-house proved intolerable. All day long he kept his post of observation. Other persons he saw leave and enter the house, but Miss Madeley did not come forth. That he could have missed her seemed impossible, for even while eating his meals he remained by the window. Perchance she had left home very early in the morning, but it was unlikely."