At His Gates

At His Gates is an enjoyable story revolving around Helen and her husband, Robert Drummer, a well-known and respected artist. The couple was happily married but not very wealthy. Helen married against the wishes of her rich family, who later disowned her but after an unexpected event, their life takes a big turn. Mrs. Oliphant weaved this delightful story from small, everyday events, creating an ideal world. It is full of well-developed characters that are unique in their own way. «Thus they were happier, more hopeful, more at their ease. They went more into society, and received more frequent visits from their friends. The new studio made many social pleasures possible that had not been possible. Of itself it implied a certain rise in the world. It gave grace and completeness to their little house. Nobody could say any longer that it was half a house and half a workshop, as Helen, under her breath, in her impatience, had sometimes declared it to be. The workshop phase was over, the era of self-denial gone—and yet Robert was not driven from the art he loved, nor prevented from putting on his old coat and stealing away in the evenings to visit the mistress who was dearer to him than anything else except his wife.»