What Will He Do with It?

In Short

This expansive Victorian novel follows the intersecting lives of a disgraced but resilient vagrant and a sheltered, unhappy aristocrat. As an elderly man seeks to protect his young granddaughter while hiding a mysterious, troubled past, he encounters a young scholar struggling with his own vocation. Set against the backdrop of an rigid, ambitious noble family obsessed with power and lineage, the story explores the tension between inherited social station and the unpredictable, personal choices that ultimately define an individual’s legacy and moral character.

The Story

The narrative centers on Waife, a man living in quiet, rustic poverty as a basketmaker, whose life is defined by his fierce devotion to his granddaughter, Sophy. Despite his outward humility, Waife possesses a refined intellect and an unsettling past that he keeps carefully guarded. He survives on the fringes of society, terrified that his history will resurface to destroy the modest sanctuary he has built for the child. His path crosses with George Morley, a young, earnest scholar and clergyman who is paralyzed by a speech impediment and a crisis of faith. Recognizing the older man’s hidden depths, George receives guidance from Waife that restores his confidence and allows him to find his voice, forging an unlikely, secret bond of mutual respect.

Simultaneously, the narrative illuminates the orbit of the House of Montfort, a powerful and prestigious aristocratic family. The current Marquess is a man of vast wealth and empty character, a figurehead who lacks the ambition and substance of his ancestors. His wife, Lady Montfort, is a woman of immense beauty and intelligence who feels isolated and stifled by her social obligations and her husband’s cold apathy. She drifts through her life, yearning for genuine intellectual connection but finding herself trapped in a marriage that offers no emotional fulfillment.

As these worlds collide, the mystery of Waife’s past begins to unravel. It is revealed that he was once a man of consequence whose life was shattered by personal misfortune and the machinations of others. His flight and subsequent humble life as a basketmaker were not merely a descent into obscurity, but a deliberate act of sacrifice to shield Sophy from the predatory figures of his former life. Throughout the struggle, the story examines the influence of the Vipont family, whose members view people—including their own kin—as tools to secure political and financial power.

The climax brings these disparate figures together. Lady Montfort, drawn by an instinctive need for something authentic, visits the basketmaker’s cottage. This encounter serves as the pivot point where the artifice of the upper class clashes with the hard-won peace of the marginalized. Waife manages to secure a measure of protection for Sophy, and Lady Montfort finds a fleeting moment of genuine happiness, suggesting that true grace is found in the quiet, uncelebrated acts of kindness rather than in the halls of power. By the end, the characters are forced to confront the central, titular challenge: having survived their pasts and navigated the constraints of their present, they must decide how to utilize the remaining fragments of their lives. The conclusion does not offer a fairytale resolution but rather a profound realization that free will, even in the shadow of circumstance, remains the ultimate arbiter of a life's direction.

How It Unfolds

A portrait of stagnant power The narrative opens by establishing the suffocating opulence of the Montfort estate, a place of immense wealth that inspires envy but offers no genuine warmth. The house stands as a symbol of institutional inertia, where the weight of history and expectation suppresses any sign of individual vitality.

The scholar’s crisis George Morley arrives at a crossroads in his life, feeling the despair of a man whose talents are obstructed by his own conscience and physical limitations. His encounter with the humble, one-eyed basketmaker, Waife, provides the unexpected mentorship he needs to overcome his insecurities and embrace his future.

The secret bond The relationship between the scholar and the vagrant deepens, characterized by a profound, unspoken gratitude and a shared commitment to keeping the basketmaker’s history private. Morley, initially an outsider to the struggles of the poor, learns that human dignity is independent of status, often flourishing in the most obscure corners of society.

The collision of two worlds The narrative shifts toward the political and social machinations of the Vipont family, who view all human interaction through the lens of utility and advancement. The contrast becomes sharp as the cold, aristocratic indifference of the Marquess clashes with the earnest, human-centered world of the basketmaker.

The final reckoning The story culminates in a quiet, transformative meeting between the high-born Lady Montfort and the marginalized Waife. This intersection of vastly different lives forces a reflection on what constitutes a life well-lived, leaving the characters to confront the weight of their choices.

The People

Waife is the moral anchor of the story. A former man of stature, he is now a one-eyed, itinerant basketmaker who lives only for the safety and happiness of his granddaughter, Sophy. His desire is for anonymity and protection from a past that threatens to expose him, yet he remains surprisingly generous, offering wisdom and support to others even while he remains a target of suspicion.

George Morley begins as a man defined by his noble birth and his anxieties. His journey is one of shedding the pretenses of his class to find a genuine, humble purpose in the Church. Through his friendship with Waife, he transforms from a stuttering, doubtful scholar into a man of confidence and integrity, eventually championing the dignity of those outside his social sphere.

Lady Montfort is the tragic, beautiful centerpiece of the upper-class world. Highly intelligent and spiritually starved, she is trapped in a hollow marriage to a man who lacks the depth to understand her. She seeks out the company of brilliant minds to escape her boredom, yet she remains profoundly lonely until she encounters the simplicity and honesty of the basketmaker’s life.

The Marquess of Montfort represents the ultimate failure of inherited privilege. Despite having access to every resource, he is a man of total apathy, lacking the will or the interest to engage with the world around him. He serves as a foil to those who, like Waife, have lost everything but still maintain a vibrant, active engagement with their own humanity.

In Its Own Voice

"Envy will be a science when it learns the use of the microscope."

This observation, appearing near the beginning of the book, sets the tone for the author’s cynical yet precise commentary on the small-minded rivalries of the wealthy.

"The house was built in the reign of George I., when first commenced that horror of the beautiful, as something in bad taste, which, agreeably to our natural love of progress, progressively advanced through the reigns of succeeding Georges."

The narrator offers this biting assessment of the Montfort estate, characterizing the architecture as a reflection of the family's lifeless, institutional pride.

"To judge human character rightly, a man may sometimes have very small experience, provided he has a very large heart."

This reflection appears during the development of the friendship between the scholar and the basketmaker, emphasizing the book’s core belief that empathy is a more reliable guide to truth than worldly knowledge.

What It's Really About

The book is a meditation on the dichotomy between public reputation and private reality. It argues that the true measure of a man is found not in his pedigree, rent-rolls, or inherited titles—all of which the author portrays as often hollow and stultifying—but in his capacity for self-sacrifice and personal integrity. The central theme is the stewardship of one's own existence. The question "What will he do with it?" refers to the potential inherent in a human life, regardless of how many times that life has been broken or reshaped by fortune. It suggests that while we cannot control the hand we are dealt, the moral weight of our actions remains entirely in our own hands.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate a slow-burning, character-driven story with a keen eye for social satire will find much to admire here. The prose is lush, precise, and deeply intellectual, reflecting the nineteenth-century tradition of expansive, omniscient storytelling. Those who enjoy dissecting the motivations of complex, flawed figures—especially those caught between the constraints of rigid social systems and their own desires—will find the character arcs of Waife and Lady Montfort particularly compelling.

However, the book demands patience. Its length and its commitment to detailed, sometimes dry, exploration of lineage and parliamentary influence can be challenging for the modern reader accustomed to faster-paced narratives. There are moments where the archaic, formal language and the author’s period-specific assumptions about class and gender may feel distant or even frustrating. Yet, beneath these stylistic hurdles lies a genuinely moving exploration of human resilience. The central mystery of the basketmaker provides a strong pull, and the author’s ability to depict the quiet, internal life of his characters remains remarkably sharp. It is a book for those who want to lose themselves in an era where every social interaction was a negotiation, and where the most significant battles were often fought in the silent, hidden spaces of the heart.