''A Daughter of Heth'' is a novel by eminent author William Black, first published in 3 volumes by

Sampson Low Sampson Low (18 November 1797 – 16 April 1886) was a bookseller and publisher in London in the 19th century. Early years Born in London in 1797, he was the son of Sampson Low, printer and publisher, of Berwick Street, Soho. He served a short ...

in 1871. It established Black's reputation as a novelist.

Plot summary

Catherine Cassilis, known as Coquette, born in France and orphaned by the recent death of her father, comes to Airlie near

Saltcoats Saltcoats ( gd, Baile an t-Salainn) is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages al ...

in Southern Scotland, to live with her uncle, the Minister. Her

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

upbringing brings her into immediate conflict with the sternly

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

household, and she quickly seeks sympathy and friendship with the more free-spirited nobleman, Lord Earlshope. During a yachting trip around western Scotland Earlshope makes a half-hearted confession of his love to Coquette (which she reciprocates), although he is already married, but estranged from his wife. But when this wife is seen in Glasgow, and his secret is exposed, Earlshope abandons Coquette and disappears. In due course Coquette accepts the marriage proposal of her devoted cousin Tom "the Whaup", although she does not truly love him. Their wedding is to be delayed until Tom has completed his medical studies. The crisis comes suddenly. Earlshope returns unexpectedly and meets Coquette: he begs her to run off to America with him and she agrees. But on the night of the planned elopement Earlshope's boat is run down in a storm and he is drowned. Coquette believes he has left for America without her. It is only after her marriage to Tom that Coquette finally learns the truth. She persuades her husband to drive her to Saltcoats to look at her lover's grave—the sea. Shortly after she collapses and within a few short weeks, she too is dead. 1871 British novels Novels set in North Ayrshire Sampson Low books {{1870s-novel-stub