Phoebe, Junior: A Last Chronicle of Carlingford follows the exploits of its heroine, Phoebe Beecham, as she learns the true history of her family history. She has been raised to have the manners of a lady. When she goes on a long visit to her shop-keeper grandparents in Carlingford she expects she must adjust to their lower station in life. However, Phoebe finds herself in a higher social circle... This novel, full of funny social commentary and well-written characters, is set roughly in the early 1860s to late 1870s. The theme is social status and snobbery, when earlier conventions were challenged by changes in religion and politics in Victorian society.