Lessons in Expectations by Ginny Hartman

Trapped by their duties, constrained by society’s expectations, a cast of characters set in Victorian England must navigate a world where they are forced to behave in ways that aren’t congruent with who they really are.

A couple’s forbidden love caused by a difference in stations. A debutante with an eating disorder that stems from the cruel expectations of others. A passionate woman stifled by the verbal and emotional abuse of her caretaker. A duke’s heir who has finally found a woman who intrigues him but is kept from following his heart by a manipulative father with a hidden agenda of his own.

Emmeline, Alexandra, and Cecily’s lives intertwine in surprising ways as consequences ensue because of the paths they are pressured into taking. Can happiness ever be found while living contrary to whom they long to be?