Liza of Lambeth

"Liza of Lambeth" is the first novel by W. Somerset Maugham, depicting the life and manners of the Victorian-era working class. The story's protagonist is Liza Kemp, an 18-year-old factory worker who lives with her aging mother. Liza likes Tom, a boy her age, but soon she realizes she perceives him as a friend. Instead, she falls in love with a married man, and this connection threatens her social image and her way of life.