Isobel Jardine's History is the story of Isobel Jardine, a wealthy woman who divides her time between Holme, a country residence in Scotland, and Edinburgh, where her father has his law business. Her cousin Sam Elliot, with whom she has spent most of her childhood and to whom she is secretly engaged, returns from a grand tour overseas. Sam, however, marries a wealthy widow to solve his financial problems - and breaks Isobel's heart. Isobel is later courted by Mr Douglas Methven. During this time, however, Isobel has taken to drinking for comfort and spends most of her time idle. Methven tries to encourage her interest and activity in life and to give her a sense of purpose. Prior to her wedding day, Isobel has too much to drink and leaves the gas on one night as she goes to sleep. A curtain gets caught in the flame and her room catches on fire. She is saved by Methven and the event acts as a turning point and she becomes a teetotaler. She learns to love Douglas Methven deeply and they are married and start a family. Many of the storylines emphasise the problems of alcohol and encourage abstaining from drinking.
