Liza of Lambeth

Set in the late Victorian era in Lambeth, a working-class district of south London, the story follows the brief life of Liza Kemp, an 18-year-old factory worker living with her elderly mother in Vere Street, a short, uniform row of 80 identical gray brick houses.

On a hot Saturday afternoon in August, the residents of Vere Street gather outdoors. Liza makes a grand entrance in a new violet dress and a black feathered hat, swaggering down the street as neighbors shout the music-hall refrain "Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road!" She dances wildly with her friend Sally. A group of men chases her, and she runs into the arms of a big, bearded stranger who kisses her on both cheeks. Embarrassed, she ducks into the nearest house.

That evening, Liza eats supper with her mother, Mrs. Kemp, an elderly widow who survives on a small pension and charring, or domestic cleaning. Mrs. Kemp complains about her rheumatism and criticizes Liza for buying a new dress instead of handing over her wages. Tom, a bashful young man who has been walking out with Liza, appears at her window. When Liza asks about the bearded stranger, Tom identifies him as Jim Blakeston, a new resident who has moved in with his wife and five children. Tom proposes marriage, but Liza gently refuses, saying she does not love him enough, and kisses him on both cheeks before shutting the window.

The next morning, Tom invites Liza on a Bank Holiday outing to Chingford, a village on the edge of Epping Forest, organized from the "Red Lion" pub. She declines, saying it would be wrong to keep his company after rejecting his proposal. Walking home, she encounters Jim playing with two of his children outside his house. He teases her about the kiss, and they banter. She notices his pleasant brown eyes and estimates his age at about 40. On Bank Holiday morning, Liza watches the festive preparations at the "Red Lion." When Jim tells her he wishes she were coming, she cannot resist. She maneuvers Tom into asking her once more and accepts. On the journey, Liza meets Mrs. Blakeston, Jim's wife, a stout, strong woman with a large face and hair plastered in plaits.

At Chingford, the group splits into couples after an enormous lunch. Dreading time alone with Tom, Liza proposes a group walk with the Blakestons. Jim monopolizes Liza's conversation while Tom sulks and eventually storms off, hurt and jealous. Later, feeling guilty, Liza apologizes and they reconcile, but she privately compares Tom unfavorably to the bolder Jim. On the dark ride home, she sits between the two men: Tom's arm steals around her waist while Jim secretly takes her hand and presses it.

Back at Vere Street, Jim reappears after telling his wife he is going for a drink. He walks Liza to her door and, when she hesitates, clasps her in his arms and kisses her on the mouth. She tears herself away and slips inside.

Over the following days, Liza's thoughts are dominated by Jim. He offers to take her to a melodrama on Saturday, but Liza protests he is married and refuses. On Saturday, however, she dresses in her best and takes a roundabout route to the theater, telling herself she will go alone. Jim is waiting outside. Liza becomes so absorbed in the play she screams warnings to the characters onstage. Afterward, they stroll to a bench, intoxicated by beer and the warm night. Jim takes Liza in his arms and kisses her passionately. A church clock strikes one. At a narrow passage between factory walls, Jim whispers an insistent question. After a tense silence, he strikes her a violent blow and says "Come on," and together they disappear into the darkness, consummating the affair.

So begins weeks of secret meetings along the Albert Embankment, in Battersea Park, or across Westminster Bridge. But the neighbors gradually become aware. Women grow less cordial to Liza, whispering behind her back. Mrs. Blakeston scowls at Liza and forbids her eldest daughter, Polly, from speaking to her. Young men taunt Liza with innuendo. Meanwhile, Sally marries her young man, Harry, but her happiness quickly fades when Harry begins beating her.

One evening, Liza arrives late to meet Jim and finds him drunk and angry. He accidentally strikes her across the face, leaving a visible black eye. At the factory, girls and men taunt her while Mrs. Blakeston passes with a scowl. Liza bursts into tears and flees home.

November brings cold, fog, and deepening misery. One evening at Waterloo Station, Liza says she wishes she were "straight." Jim proposes they run away together, but Liza refuses because she cannot leave her mother and does not want Mrs. Kemp to know she has "gone wrong." They agree they are trapped. Tom has withdrawn from Liza's life, and when she encounters him, she realizes he knows about the affair and regrets losing his gentle devotion.

Sally warns Liza that Mrs. Blakeston intends to confront her physically. On a gray Saturday afternoon, Liza tries to avoid the woman but nearly walks into her at the public-house door. Mrs. Blakeston blocks her path and publicly denounces her before a gathering crowd, then slaps her twice and spits in her face. Liza snaps, raking her nails down the woman's cheeks. The crowd insists they fight it out. Despite being smaller and weaker, Liza fights back fiercely, but Mrs. Blakeston's heavier blows overpower her. They grapple savagely until Jim arrives and tears them apart. Tom gently leads the battered, weeping Liza home.

Tom washes the blood from Liza's face. She apologizes and says she would have been better off accepting his proposal. He proposes again, saying he does not care what has happened. Liza declines, then confesses that she believes she is pregnant. Tom still offers to marry her, but she insists she cannot. He kisses her on the forehead and leaves. Meanwhile, Jim goes home and, provoked by his wife's continued berating, beats Mrs. Blakeston savagely until a neighbor intervenes.

That evening, Mrs. Kemp finds Liza weeping and produces a bottle of whisky. Mother and daughter drink together until both collapse asleep. That night, Liza wakes with terrible pains, alternating between chills and fever. The fever worsens the next day, and early the following morning, she screams in the anguish of labor. Mrs. Kemp wakes the upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Hodges, who works as a local midwife. Mrs. Hodges recognizes that Liza has had a miscarriage and sends for a doctor. When Mrs. Kemp asks who is responsible, Liza whispers only that it is not Tom. The doctor privately tells Mrs. Hodges that Liza is likely to die. Among the neighbors gathered at the door, Tom cries out Liza's name in anguish. Mrs. Kemp and Mrs. Hodges sit drinking brandy; Mrs. Kemp laments the disgrace while discussing undertaking arrangements, having insured Liza since birth.

Jim arrives, white-faced. He pushes to Liza's bedside and whispers to the doctor that it was his fault. He begs Liza to speak and forgive him, but the doctor says she cannot hear. Jim kneels by the bed, weeping. The room falls silent. A rattling sound comes from the bed. The doctor examines Liza, then draws the sheet over her head. Jim turns away with a look of intense weariness. Mrs. Kemp and Mrs. Hodges weep silently as dim gray dawn light fills the room and the lamp sputters out.