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Sense and Sensibility by Jane AustenRead about another title on the list.
The novel is shaped by a will. Henry Dashwood's uncle leaves his wealth not to his own family, but to his son by a previous marriage and a four-year-old grandson. His wife and daughters, who have attended on the old man for years, are disinherited in favour of a child who has gained his affections by "an imperfect articulation, an earnest desire of having his own way, many cunning tricks, and a great deal of noise".
Sense and Sensibility is on Sam Baker's top ten list of literary stepmothers.
--Marshal Zeringue