Red Pottage

Forbidden love. Scandalous betrayal. Can two friends survive the unforgiving grip of Victorian society?

Two friends, one an independent woman in love with a married man and the other a writer struggling for creative freedom, face harsh societal judgments in Red Pottage. With sharp wit and emotional depth, Cholmondeley weaves a story of friendship tested by romance, ambition, and betrayal in an era marked by moral hypocrisy. This powerful novel critiques Victorian society while exploring the price of integrity and desire.

Mary Cholmondeley (1859-1925) was an English writer. Members of her family were involved in the literary world, notably her uncle Reginald Cholmondeley who was a friend of the American novelist, Mark Twain. Growing up, Mary Cholmondeley liked to tell stories to her siblings and turned to writing fiction as an escape from the monotony of her daily routine. Her diary showed that by the age of 18 she was already convinced she would never marry, lacking, she believed, the looks and the charms necessary to attract a suitable mate. Her first book was published under the title Her Evil Genius, and shortly thereafter, in 1886, her second work, The Danvers Jewels, earned her a small but respectable following.