The prodigal apprentice

The prodigal apprentice by George MacDonald. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780896931510.

Tom Worboise, the prodigal apprentice, is indecisive, frivolous, and ambitious for the "good life." He works as clerk to Mr. Boxall, a wealthy businessman in Londons Guild Court, On his own time, Tom alternates between two girls who love him, Lucy Burton and Mary Boxall. Toms father, a shrewd lawyer, amens a will for the Boxall family, who soon afterward are all lost in a shipwreck. Toms father had been named beneficiary in such an eventuality, and now ruthlessly goes after the money. Tom is influenced by his crafty father and enters a series of misadventures that involve gambling and theft. Finally he comes to himself and returns to London where he finds love and a more noble way of life.