A Father &
His Fate

Miles Mowbray, the central figure... is one of Ivy Compton-Burnett's most successful domestic dictators in the marriage of comedy with sheer awfulness. 

BRIEF PLOT SUMMARY

On the Mowbray estate, the pompous, dictatorial Miles Mowbray rules his wife Ellen and three daughters with lofty moral speeches and iron whims. His nephew Malcolm lives with them as the designated heir, chafing under his uncle’s control. Across the field, Miles’s domineering sister-in-law Eliza raises her own sons. When Miles and Ellen sail abroad, their ship sinks. Ellen is presumed drowned, but Miles survives.

During his absence, Eliza takes in the beautiful young Verena Gray. Malcolm and Verena become engaged, but upon Miles’s dramatic return, Verena swiftly transfers her ambitions to the older, wealthier man. Miles, enchanted, announces he will marry Verena himself, casting aside his nephew’s claim. The wedding is hastily arranged. On the eve of the ceremony, the eldest daughter discovers that Miss Gibbon has been secretly aiding Ellen, who survived the shipwreck but has been living in hiding nearby.

Miles had known all along — and had been sending her money to keep her away so he could marry Verena. The marriage is stopped. Verena is sent back to Eliza’s house in disgrace. Months later she returns as Malcolm’s wife, but she bitterly refuses to accept her reduced status. When an addressed envelope reveals that Miles himself was the anonymous benefactor keeping Ellen away, Verena deliberately engineers his exposure as revenge. Verena then announces she is leaving, that Malcolm will divorce her, and that he should marry his sister Ursula and raise the child she is carrying.

She departs, leaving chaos behind. In the aftermath, Malcolm and Ursula do marry and prepare to raise Verena’s baby daughter. While readying their rooms, hidden nightclothes are discovered that prove Verena had already been sharing Miles’s bed before the aborted wedding. The baby is therefore Miles’s child, not Malcolm’s. The family quietly absorbs this final devastating truth. Miles continues as before, the house and its secrets intact. The mighty have fallen — but somehow remain on their feet.