Something is wrong in Danesbury House. Its walls are sturdy, its interior is well appointed, yet the ground it is built upon is soaked in alcohol. This 1860 award-winning novel traces forty years of addictions, insanity, forgery, and death–hardly the typical Victorian fare. Yet this is no typical novel. A best seller upon its publication, Danesbury House became the Valley of the Dolls for Victorian readers. Its sensational subject and description of addictions made it one of the most popular temperance novels of all time.