A Servant of the Public (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

This 1905 novel features a talented young actress, Ora Pinsent, who leads a life of superficial pleasures.  When she falls in love with Ashley Mead, a young barrister, she has a chance at something more.  "One seldom meets in fiction a character drawn with such sympathy, such insight, such delicate and persuasive art," said the New York Times.