Marjorie Fielding is born premature and spends her first months of life in an incubator. Her mother is a modern, broad-minded woman eschewing old fashioned views of childrearing to embrace a scientific method. Science has its place but can it be taken too far? Little Marjorie gives us her perspective. – Summary by Scotty [chương_files]
(Once again Mrs Kingsley does not shy away from the highs and lows of life in the quickly changing world of the 1900s…the ageing women working to support themselves or their families, in jobs that will soon disappear…the washerwoman, butter-woman and the little dressmaker….the contrast between the socialite of Boston and the drudge in the kitchen….the old farmers and the independent, college-educated young people…and, with an acceptance of the realities of life we might think of as “modern”, the impact of an illegitimate child on the lives of its mother and her whole family. In her new role as the ministers wife, Miss Philura’s independent (dare one say rebellious?) spirit continues to blossom, while deep in her heart there is a secret longing waiting to be realised….The arrival of a mysterious new family in the village will have unexpected consequences for the lives of several people in Innesfield; fortunately the heart of Philura is big enough and brave enough to embrace it all. (Anne F ) Books in the series: 1 – The Transfiguration of Miss Philura 2 – Miss Philura’s Wedding Gown 3 – The Heart of Philura 4 – Neighbors [chương_files]
Sylvester Lanyon, a doctor, is mourning the early death of his wife. His young daughter Dorothy is living with his father, Matthew, also a widower, in a large country house. While visiting his father, Sylvester takes up with Ella, a childhood friend. While tending a dying friend, Sylvester discovers a secret about him which turns his world upside down. He abruptly decides to move to London to continue his researches there, leaving Ella and his daughter behind. Also moving to London, Ella meets Roderick, another friend of Sylvester’s, and the story continues from there as the lives of the three become bound up together. – Summary by Simon Evers [chương_files]
After presenting an overview of alcoholism and its affect on society, Dr. Cutten dives into the effects of chronic alcoholism on physiology, the nervous system, memory, intellect, will, emotions, senses that affect the individual’s morals and sanity. Lastly he presents two cures known at that time, Religious conversion and hypnotism. Summary by Curt Walton [chương_files]
This collection of eleven short stories, both humorous and touching, about English school boys was published in 1900. The book was quite popular in its time. The author wrote two follow-up books: The Human Boy Again (1908) and The Human Boy And The War (1916). Eden Phillpotts was popular with the reading public and wrote prolifically novels, short stories, poetry, plays, and nonfiction. Clarification of the term fag: In an English public school a junior boy who performs menial tasks for a senior. – Summary by David Wales [chương_files]
“Mr. B. Russell Herts, c/o International Magazine, New York City. Under separate cover I am sending you a record of a young man who is about to commit suicide. My only object is that it may help…to ease the way for some who come after…. I do not sign this, but you may verify my death by communicating with Mr. ——, whom I am writing to-day, so that he may look after my effects in New York.” The body of a well-dressed young man was found off Manhattan Beach, Sept. 28, 1913. In his pockets a torn photograph of Strindberg and receipts for three registered letters were found. These receipts were traced to Mr. Herts and to friends in Toronto, one of whom identified the body on Oct. 2d as that of Wallace E. Baker. –From the book’s Forward. [chương_files]
Minor potboiler is a change of pace from the author of the Lone Wolf detective series. Tenement beauty (and wannabe stage-star) Joan Thursby seeks to raise herself up out of the gutter in 1900’s New York City, in a precursor to superior soaps like Stella Dallas a decade later. Full of the kind of purple prose common to writers prone to overuse of the thesaurus, and leavened with a bit of humor, the basic story is still entertaining for fans of low-brow lit. – Summary by Matt Pierard [chương_files]
Timid Joanna Traill’s every move is dictated by her overbearing sisters. Then she meets Mr. Boas, a man who works to give “fallen” women a chance at a better life. Through Mr. Boas, Joanna has the opportunity to take in as a ward a girl from a troubled background. When she takes Christine under her wing, her lonely, monotonous life starts to change for the better, and she learns to assert herself and live on her own terms, not her sisters’. As the years pass, Christine gets to know Mr. Bevan, a friend of Mr. Boas’s, and eventually the two fall in love. Joanna advises her that she must tell Mr. Bevan of her past. Joanna also comes to realize that she regards Mr. Boas as more than a friend. How will Mr. Bevan react to Christine’s news? And will Mr. Boas return Joanna’s love? – Summary by Scarbo [chương_files]
Mona Caird, a British writer and feminist, criticized in numerous non-fiction writings the state of marriage as it existed in her time. Her novel The Wing of Azrael reflects her criticisms. This is the second volume of three. In volume 2, Viola Sedley is facing a coerced marriage to Philip Dendraith. With the wedding fast approaching, she voices her concerns to her mother about Philip’s animal abuse. Her mother is unmoved, claiming that Viola can wield her influence to change Philip for the better. Harry Lancaster makes tenacious efforts to save her from the impending marriage, but to no avail. A new resident of the village named Sibella Lincoln creates a stir in the community because of rumors that she had abandoned her husband and run off with another man. Harry and Sibella work together to find a way to help Viola, now trapped in a miserable marriage. (Summary by Scarbo) [chương_files]
A companion piece to Hamilton’s earlier work, The Theory of the Theatre. Where that volume dealt with the criticism of dramatic art in general, this volume focuses more specifically on the contemporary drama of the era in which it was written. – Summary by Andrew Gaunce [chương_files]
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