A Laodicean

A Laodicean is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1881. Set in the more technologically advanced contemporaneous age, the plot exhibits devices uncommon for Hardy, such as falsified telegrams and faked photographs. The story tells of Paula Power, who inherits a medieval castle from her industrialist father, having purchased it from the aristocratic De Stancy family. Paula employs two architects, one local and one, George Somerset, newly qualified from London.