At the beginning of the book, we are told that Ethelberta was raised in humble circumstances but, through her work as a governess, married well at the age of eighteen. Her husband died two weeks after the wedding and, now twenty-one, Ethelberta lives with her mother-in-law, Lady Petherwin. In the three years that have elapsed since the deaths of both her husband and father-in-law, Ethelberta has been treated to foreign travel and further privilege by her benefactress, but restricted from seeing her poor family.The events of the story concern Ethelberta's career as a famous poetess and storyteller as she struggles to support her family and conceal her secret -- that her father is a butler. Beautiful, clever, and rational, she easily attracts four very persistent suitors (Mr Julian, Mr Neigh, Mr Ladywell, and Lord Mountclere), but is reluctant to give her much-coveted hand.
"A masterful portrait" (The Philadelphia Inquirer) from a Whitbread Award-winning biographer, and author of A Life of My Own. The novels of Thomas Hardy have a permanent place on every booklover's shelf, yet little is known about the interior life of the man who wrote them. A believer and an unbeliever, a socialist and a snob, an unhappy husband and a desolate widower, Hardy challenged the sexual and religious conventions of his time in his novels and then abandoned fiction to reestablish himself as a great twentieth-century lyric poet. In this acclaimed new biography, Claire Tomalin, one of today's preeminent literary biographers, investigates this beloved writer and reveals a figure as rich and complex as his tremendous legacy.
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"See if she is dark or fair, and if you can, notice if her hands be white; if not, see if they look as though she had ever done housework, or are milker's hands like mine." So Rhoda Brook, the abandoned mistress of Farmer Lodge, is jealous to discover details of his new bride in 'The Withered Arm', the title story in this selection of Hardy's finest short stories. Hardy's first story, 'Destiny and a Blue Cloak' was written fresh from the success of Far From the Madding Crowd. Beautiful in their own right, these stories are also testing-grounds for the novels in their controversial sexual politics, their refusal of romance structures, and their elegiac pursuit of past, lost loves. Several of the stories in The Withered Arm were collected to form the famous volume, Wessex Tales (1888), the first time Hardy denoted 'Wessex' to describe his fictional world. The Withered Arm is the first of a new two-volume selection of Hardy's short stories, edited with an introduction and notes by Kristin Brady.
From the master of Victorian tragedy, the surprisingly comic adventures of a man caught between romance and religion. When young Mr. Stockdale arrives in a small village to fill in for the Methodist minister, he finds himself pining for his comely new landlady. But she leads a mysterious life, keeping odd hours and speaking in hushed tones. As his love for her grows, he’s soon at the center of a hilarious high-stakes adventure, complete with slapstick, hijinks, and a marauding band of cross-dressers. And he’s forced to choose: follow his heart or his higher purpose? *** This is a Hybrid Book. Melville House HybridBooks combine print and digital media into an enhanced reading experience by including with each title additional curated material called Illuminations — maps, photographs, illustrations, and further writing about the author and the book. The Melville House Illuminations are free with the purchase of any title in the HybridBook series, no matter the format. Purchasers of the print version can obtain the Illuminations for a given title simply by scanning the QR code found in the back of each book, or by following the url also given in the back of the print book, then downloading the Illumination in whatever format works best for you. Purchasers of the digital version receive the appropriate Illuminations automatically as part of the ebook edition.
These heart-soaring tales of romance and tragedy are widely considered four of the finest novels in English literature. Wuthering Heights is an immortal story of love and obsession on the stormy Yorkshire moors. The fate of the Earnshaw family is forever changed when they adopt a dark-skinned orphan boy named Heathcliff. As the years pass, Heathcliff and young Catherine Earnshaw fall deeply in love, but their passion cannot survive the pressures of society and the black force of jealousy. Driven away by a broken heart, Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights only to return years later, bent on the cruelest kind of revenge. Pride and Prejudice is a classic comedy of manners and an enduring romance. In a remote Hertfordshire village, Jane Bennet attracts the attentions of a young gentleman named Charles Bingley, but his good friend Mr. Darcy disapproves of the match. Elizabeth Bennet, always eager to defend her sweet-natured sister, detests the prideful Mr. Darcy, even when he asks for her hand in marriage. But when a chance encounter reunites the combative couple, Elizabeth realizes that her prejudices have been standing in the way of her heart’s true desire. Far from the Madding Crowd is a love story wrapped in the cloak of tragedy. Shortly after the spirited, impulsive, and beautiful Bathsheba Everdene arrives in Wessex, she saves the life of a young shepherd. When he asks for her hand in marriage, Bathsheba refuses; she cannot sacrifice her independence for a man she does not love. Years later and now a wealthy woman, Bathsheba falls for a dashing sergeant and makes a fateful decision that brings long-buried secrets to the fore. Jane Eyre shines a brilliant light into the dark corners of Victorian society. Born to a good family but with no wealth of her own, Jane Eyre lives first with her uncle and then in a punitive boarding school for girls. When she becomes governess of Thornfield Hall, the young orphan feels at home for the first time in her life. She soon falls in love with Edward Rochester, master of the house, but just when it seems her luck has finally changed, Jane discovers the secret of the attic—a terrible revelation that threatens to destroy her dreams of happiness forever. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Three of the finest of the author's numerous short stories include the romantic title tale, the comic "The Distracted Preacher," and "The Three Strangers," a tribute to community life.
