A small well-to-do, English parish is rocked by gossip and a woman’s reputation teeters on the brink of notoriety and scandal. When James Risby innocently tells his gossiping aunt, Mrs Bulsom-Porter, that he has recognized the newcomer in the parish as someone at the center of a notorious scandal five years previously, Mrs Bulsom-Porter becomes intent on publicly revealing the true identity of Mrs Dane. She believes Mrs Dane to be Miss Hindemarsh, a governess who had an affair with her employer while in Vienna and drove his wife to suicide. But will anyone believe her spiteful gossip? Matters are further complicated as Lionel (Lal) Carteret has fallen in love with Mrs Dane and ardently wishes to marry her. WIth the help of Lady Eastney and his adopted father and talented lawyer, Sir Daniel, Lal is determined to clear Mrs Dane’s name and become her husband. However, his father’s skilful questioning reveals more than Lal was bargaining for.
Henry Arthur Jones’ popular drawing room drama shows sympathy to a young woman caught up in the immoral behavior of an older, dominant man, but ultimately remains true to the strict rules and moral code of Victorian society.
Mrs Dane's Defence guide sections
