Vashti Or, Until Death Us Do Part

'Vashti Or, Until Death Us Do Part' by Augusta J. Evans is a novel written in the late 19th century. The story introduces a young woman navigating her feelings of displacement as her home life is disrupted by the return of a long-absent half-brother, Ulpian Grey. As the narrative unfolds, themes of rivalry, familial bonds, and the struggle for identity emerge, centered around the lives of Salome and Ulpian. The opening of the novel establishes a tense and charged atmosphere. Salome reflects on the arrival of her half-brother, Ulpian, who is set to disrupt her once peaceful existence at the homestead of Miss Jane Grey, her benefactor. The meeting between Salome and Ulpian is marked by an intense examination of each other's character, hinting at the friction that will develop between them. Salome's struggle with her identity and the unsettling prospect of having to fend for herself heightens the emotional stakes, foreshadowing a complex relationship that intertwines love, bitterness, and a desperate yearning for belonging.