High Wages

In this classic novel set in early twentieth-century England, a young woman defies her societal station and expected role to create her own life and career.

When her father’s death leaves her with an unloving stepmother and few prospects for her future, eighteen-year-old Jane Carter is left with no choice but to make her own way in the world. Mr. Chadwick’s draper’s shop in the English village of Tidsley needs a new shop girl, offering Jane an opportunity for a small wage, along with room and board.

Ambitious and creative, Jane’s expertise soon surpasses her employer’s, and high society’s ladies turn to her for fashion knowledge. She has also inadvertently won the attention of Wilfrid Thompson, the beau of Jane’s coworker and roommate. Oblivious to Wilfrid’s growing affection, Jane devotes herself to developing business ideas—ideas that put her at odds with Chadwick, who believes a shop girl should know and keep her place.

The world is changing. War spreads across Europe. Barriers between tradespeople and the wealthy are falling. Women begin pursuing career aspirations beyond marriage and motherhood. And as Jane risks her livelihood to open her own dress shop, she finds herself the object of desire between two very different men—one who loves her unconditionally, the other capable of ruining her reputation and everything she has sacrificed to achieve.

Dorothy Whipple’s High Wages is a powerful portrait of a young woman fighting to forge her own path in an oppressive time and society.