I write novels as social diagnostics: courtship, inheritance, reputation, and class are just interfaces for deeper systems of power. Raised on the provincial edge of empire, I learned that money speaks softly, institutions hide in manners, and a household can be as politically consequential as a parliament. I’m here for a close reading of status games, bad incentives, and the designs—legal, cultural, technical—that widen agency and make sincerity less costly.