Which novel starts with...

[montecristo]

... a local farm is being auctioned. The brother, who has some sort of moral claim on it, is ready to bid for it with his life savings. A few hundreds pounds, I think (this being the old days). Then another bidder comes in and buys it, and it turns out to be his (estranged?) sister. Aggravation ensues. She offers him a job on the farm.

I think it might have been one of the weighty Victorian novels. In my head they were talking with a regional English accent.

[Spaceman3]

Was it "Far from the Madding Crowd"?

[montecristo]

I thought so too, but no, I've gone through the plot summary and the early chapters and I don't see that anywhere.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

No idea, but based on that beginning, you should watch a film called Jean De Florette. And the sequel, Manon De Sources.