Dorval, or The Speculator, by Sarah (Sally) Wood
Dorval, or the Speculator by Sarah Sayward Barrell Keating Wood, first published in 1801. Printed by Nutting and Whitelock at the Ledger Press for the author. The book is set in New England, shortly after the Revolutionary War and tells the story of Aurelia Morley, the only daughter of Colonel Morley, a hero of the war. The family are comfortably off, until they fall into the scheming hands of the eponymous Dorval. The author uses the real Yazoo land speculation fraud in Georgia as a backdrop. Colonel Morley is promised wealth beyond his dreams by Dorval, purchasing vast amounts of land in Georgia for a little over a dollar an acre, but borrowing money to do so, certain of selling the land at a substantial profit. When Georgia reformers overturned the Act which allowed the sales, Colonel Morley was left severely in debt, leading to misery for the family and also their friends, the Dunbars. Dorval is not satisfied with financial ruin for the family. He is in love with Aurelia, but she r...