Mr Meeson’s Will

by H. Rider Haggard

First published 1888

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3.8(233)

Augusta Smithers, a talented but poorly paid novelist, confronts the ruthless publisher Jonathan Meeson over an exploitative contract. After she and Meeson survive a shipwreck and reach the desolate Kerguelen Islands, the dying publisher decides to replace the will that disinherited his nephew Eustace.

With no paper available, the new will is tattooed across Augusta’s back, turning her body into the central evidence in a remarkable inheritance trial. The novel combines publishing satire, maritime survival, romance and legal comedy while attacking the unequal power of Victorian publishers over authors.