All This and Heaven Too by Rachel Field

“Among the ill-assorted group of passengers waiting to leave the small steamer that had brought them across the Channel from Southampton to Le Havre, a woman stood erect and alone with her luggage piled about her. It was unusual in the year 1841 for a woman of her age and appearance to be travelling unaccompanied. Not that she showed striking beauty, but a certain spirited grace of carriage distinguished her from her fellow-travellers.” -an excerpt