Set in an era when individual honor and a person's good name were supremely important, Bedford Square is a study in consequences of a threat to that personal honor.

In this world, even a suspicion of wrongdoing could ruin a man, bringing down even the most powerful. The historical backdrop for the novel is the Tranby Croft gambling scandal, in which the Prince of Wales was required to testify in court, as if he were a commoner and not heir to the throne. The English class system was changing as the Victorian Age came to an end. The powerful upper class was losing its grip on the economic system and the social climate of the nation. The commoners were rising, becoming better educated and economically stronger.

Queen Victoria's reign began in 1837, with the British divided along class lines.

Twenty years of war with Napoleon's France had...