The Shadow of Moloch Mountain

About this issue

Jane G. Austin's 1870 novel The Shadow of Moloch Mountain opens with Peleg Brewster, a New England farmer, angrily expelling his second wife Semantha and his brother Joe from his home at the Brewster Place near Milvorhaven. Haunted by his first wife Mary's death, Peleg threatens to sell the property and emigrate rather than remain under the same roof with those he views as having corrupted his stepdaughter Ruth. He gives them until evening to depart. The narrative then shifts to Moloch Mountain, where two lovers—Marston Brent and Beatrice Wansted—meet at sunset. Beatrice, raised by her grandfather after her mother's death in Italy, bears striking resemblance to a Cenci painting her mother cherished. The narrative suggests tension between the ostensibly betrothed couple, with Marston appearing moody and conflicted, while Beatrice demonstrates a spirited, challenging temperament.