The End of the World — D.W. Wilkin

When a stranger arrives in Cornwall while the war rages on the Peninsula, is he the answer to one's prayers, or a nightmare wearing the disguise of a gentleman? Hermione Merwyn leads a pleasant, quiet life with her father, in the farthest corner of England. All is as it should be, though change is sure to come. For she and her sister have reached the age of marriage, but that can be no great adventure when life at home has already been so bountiful. When Samuel Lynchhammer arrives in Cornwall, having journeyed the width of the country, he is down to his last few quid and needs to find work for his keep. Spurned by the most successful mine owner in the county, Gavin Tadcaster, Samuel finds work for Gavin's adversary, Sir Lawrence Merwyn. Can working for Sir Lawrence, the father of two young women on the cusp of their first season to far away London, be what Samuel needs to help him resolve the reasons for his running away from his obligations in the east of the country? Will the daughters be able to find happiness in the desolate landscapes and deadly mines of their home?