Originally published in 1862, following serialisation in Blackwood’s Magazine, this novel continues the Carlingford Chronicles series. It is Oliphant’s attempt to echo the mystery and suspense of the popular sensation novels written by her contemporaries, Wilkie Collins and M. E. Braddon – although the preoccupation with religious dissent and the anonymous publication in Blackwood’s led some early reviewers to suspect that the novel was the work of George Eliot.
The story follows Arthur Vincent, a young minister at the eponymous chapel. Vincent’s idealistic attitude clashes with the petty bourgeois mentality of his congregation. But this is only the beginning of his troubles, which involve his romance with the beautiful Lady Western, the disappearance of his sister and even a kidnapping.