A Singular Life

Set in a late 19th-century fishing village, A Singular Life follows the unconventional path of Emanuel Bayard, a man determined to live a life of moral clarity and service after leaving the pulpit. As he befriends a local woman with a troubled past and takes a stand against societal norms, his actions provoke admiration and outrage alike. With a focus on ethical living, gender justice, and compassion over doctrine, the novel reflects both spiritual and social reform ideals of its era.

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward (nee Mary Gray Phelps, 1844-1911) was an American author and an early advocate of clothing reform for women, urging them to burn their corsets. A Singular Life is a novel about the lie and works of an Episcopal clergyman.