Esther Waters is a novel by George Moore first published in 1894.

Esther Waters is an unmarried young woman from an impoverished working class family who, while employed as a kitchen maid, is seduced by one of her fellow domestic servants, falls pregnant, then subsequently is deserted by her lover. Despite the dire circumstances and the social stigma of bearing a child out of wedlock, Esther decides to bring up her future child as a single mother, despite the backlash she will face. 'Esther Waters' is one of a group of Victorian novels depicting the life and times of the "fallen woman". It is widely regarded as Moore’s best novel. Highly recommended for fans of the natural realist novels of Émile Zola, Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope, who examined the societal repercussions of the early-stage capitalism immediately following the Industrial Resolution. George Augustus Moore was an Irish novelist, short-story writer, poet, art critic and playwright. As a writer he best known for his contribution to the natural realist genre of literature. He was among the first English-language writers to follow in the footsteps of the French realists, especially the writings of Émile Zola were influential on his work. Moore himself went on to influence fellow Irishman James Joyce. Although Moore's work is often not considered to belong to the mainstream Irish and British literature of his time, he is widely accepted as being one of the first great modern Irish novelists.

Set in England from the early 1870s onward, the novel is about a young, pious woman from a poor working-class family who, while working as a kitchen maid, is seduced by another employee, becomes pregnant, is deserted by her lover, and against all odds decides to raise her child as a single mother. Esther Waters is one of a group of Victorian novels that depict the life of a "fallen woman".Written in a Zola-like naturalistic style, the novel stands out among Moore's publications as the book whose immediate success, including Gladstone's approval of the novel in the Westminster Gazette, brought him financial security. Moore's fellow late nineteenth century novelist' George Gissing, wrote there was "some pathos and power in latter part, but miserable writing. The dialogue often grotesquely phrased". Continuously revised by Moore (1899, 1917, 1920, 1931), it is often regarded as his best

Excerpt from Esther Waters: A Novel She stood on the platform watching the receding train. A few bushes hid the curve of the line; the white vapour rose above them, evaporating in the pale evening. A moment more and the last carriage would pass out of sight. The white gates swung forward slowly and closed over the line. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Esther Waters is a novel by George Moore, first published in 1894, but subsequently revised several times. It is widely considered Moore's finest novel. Esther Waters concerns the eponymous heroine, a poor but pious woman whose life takes an unfortunate series of turns that end up pitting her personal conscience against prevailing social standards.Esther Waters begins by describing Esther's upbringing by devout Plymouth Brethren parents in a small town in Devonshire. The Plymouth Brethren was a small, non-conformist evangelical church that others often looked at askance. Esther's father dies while she is young, and her mother moves the family to London. There she remarries to a man who is abusive to both her and Esther. Esther's stepfather pulls her out of school before she learns to read or write - a decision that will haunt her the rest of her life.Esther gets a job working for the Barfields, a family of newly wealthy horse breeders and racers. She takes a position as a kitchen maid. During her tenure with the Barfields, the young - and beautiful - Esther fatefully meets a footman named William Latch, who seduces and impregnates her. William promises to marry Esther, but elopes with the Barfields' niece, with whom he has been having an affair, leaving Esther pregnant and abandoned. Once Esther's pregnancy becomes obvious, Mrs. Barfield - a fellow Plymouth Sister, and a friend to Esther - regretfully fires Esther because, she says, she would make a poor example to the other girls.Esther returns to London, renting a room outside her family home to avoid her stepfather. Her mother dies giving birth to her eighth child at the same time as Esther finally gives birth to her own son, a healthy baby boy named Jack. Esther's younger sister comes to her during her confinement to beg for money for a trip to Australia - the family is going to emigrate.Desperate for money, Esther decides to become a wet nurse, taking a job suckling the child of a wealthy woman. The woman disallows Esther to be in contact with her own child out of fear of disease, so Esther has to place her own son in the care of a baby farmer. When Esther does visit her son, he is sickly, and Esther fears for his life. She immediately reclaims her child, ending her employment with the wealthy woman, and resigning herself to the fact that she will now have to enter a workhouse for food and shelter. She has no other choice.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.