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The novel is a dark tale of destructive ambition, class discrimination, domestic violence and Victorian repression, inspired by Dickens' style but with Cronin's social realism. A 1942 film adaptation starring Robert Newton.
The story takes place in 1879 in the fictional Scottish town of Levenford on the Firth of Clyde. The main character is James Brodie, an ambitious hatter and tyrant of his family, obsessed with the idea of his noble origin and superiority. He lives in a luxurious but overly grandiose house that his fellow townspeople mockingly call "The Hatter's Castle". Brodie is a cruel patriarch: he humiliates his frail wife Margaret (Mamma), who suffers from an illness, pressures his son Matthew to succeed in school in order to boast to his rivals, keeps his daughter Mary almost a prisoner, and favors and uses his younger daughter Nessie.
His narcissism destroys the family: the business collapses due to a rival who opens a shop next to his, and Brodie's arrogance drives away customers. He begins an affair with his mistress Nancy, which brings more tragedy. Mary, seeking escape, falls in love with a young Irishman, Denis Foyle, but their relationship ends tragically – Denis, accused of theft, runs away and dies in an accident, and Mary, pregnant, throws herself off a bridge. Matthew, under pressure from his father, begins to drink and ends up committing suicide. Nessie, raped by her father (in some interpretations), runs away. His mother dies of cancer, suffering and humiliation. Brodie's grandmother, a true noblewoman, suffers in silence. Finally, Brodie loses everything: his job, his family, his status. He is left alone in a dilapidated "castle", a symbol of his downfall.
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