Anna of the Five Towns

Anna of the Five Towns is a novel by Arnold Bennett, first published in 1902 and probably his best-known work.

Warning: wikipedia contains spoilers

The plot centres on Anna, daughter of a wealthy but miserly and dictatorial father, living in the Potteries area of Staffordshire. Her activities are strictly controlled by the Methodism church. Having escaped her father by marrying the respectable and attractive Henry, she attempts in vain to help Willy, son of a drunken and bankrupt business associate of her father's. She eventually realises, too late, that she loves Willy.