The Finger of Fate: A Romance

"The Finger of Fate: A Romance" by Captain Mayne Reid is a novel written in the late 19th century. The story revolves around the lives of two half-brothers, Nigel and Henry Harding, who come from a well-to-do family stemming from their father, General Harding. The novel explores themes of familial conflict, rivalry, and love as both brothers find themselves enamored with the same woman, Belle Mainwaring, setting the stage for an engaging tale of romance intertwined with complex relationships. The opening of the book introduces us to the Harding brothers during a hunting trip, illustrating their contrasting personalities and backgrounds. Nigel, the elder brother with a stern demeanor, clashes with Henry, whose warm-hearted and impulsive nature is depicted during an altercation that leads to a promise of vengeance between them. The narrative further unfolds their family dynamics, revealing their shared father but different mothers, highlighting underlying tensions and differing traits inherited from their parents. As the story progresses, the brothers' rivalry intensifies due to their mutual affection for Belle, creating a compelling backdrop for the unfolding drama. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Thomas Mayne Reid was a British novelist who fought in the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). His many works on American life describe colonial policy in the American colonies, the horrors of slave labour, and the lives of American Indians. "Captain" Reid wrote adventure novels akin to those by Frederick Marryat (1792-1848), and Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894). They were set mainly in the American West, Mexico, South Africa, the Himalayas, and Jamaica. He was an admirer of Lord Byron. His novel Quadroon (1856), an anti-slavery work, was later adapted as a play entitled The Octoroon (1859) by Dion Boucicault and produced in New York.