Raised to the Peerage V2: A Novel (1859)

This fascinating novel tells the story of Hector Wolf, an archeologist who discovers a giant stone statue buried in the wasteland. Soon afterwards, a mob flocks to the scene searching for the meaning of their lives. Among them is a writer, a young troubadour, a chaplain and his daughter, a self-serving politician, and a foreign dissident. As the new settlement grows, and more and more of the stone giant is exposed, each of these strong-willed individuals has a hand in affecting events that begin to take on a life of their own, and as much as each believes he knew what he was doing, none is fully able to grasp their combined impact or stop what they have inadvertantly set in motion.