However, that protagonist, Ernest, is rescued by his godfather and falls into an inheritance from his aunt.  
Editor Eliza Savage appears as the character Alethea in this novel, which begins with the life of the protagonist's great-grandfather John, a carpenter, and proceeds through the next three generations of a clerical family clearly based on the author's own.  The protagonist then breaks from the puritanical path of his parents Theobald and Christina; serves time in prison; and unwittingly enters into a bigamous marriage with Ellen.  However, that protagonist, Ernest, is rescued by his godfather and falls into an inheritance from his aunt.  FTP, identify this novel about the Pontifex family, a Victorian satire by Samuel Butler.
Editor Eliza Savage appears as the character Alethea in this novel, which begins with the life of the protagonist's great-grandfather John, a carpenter, and proceeds through the next three generations of a clerical family clearly based on the author's own.  
The Way of All Flesh