
CAPTAIN MARY MILLER.
CHARACTERS:
ACT I.
ACT II.
ACT III.
ACT IV.
ACT V.
In a bustling New England wharf, the Gandy household crackles with arguments over a fallen shawl and the deeper question of who truly owns a woman’s livelihood. Captain Gandy’s stubborn pride collides with his wife Lorany’s yearning for independence, as she confronts the “lectur‑woman” who preaches that a marriage is essentially a man’s domain. Their sharp, dialect‑rich exchanges reveal a marriage strained by tradition, money, and the sea‑scented dreams that hover over their home.
Around them swirl a cast of salty characters—a retired sea captain, a young skipper eager for command, a ship‑owner, and the Gandy children—all caught up in the tide of change. As Lorany’s wishes to choose her own clothing turn into a broader ambition to steer a vessel herself, the drama sketches a vivid portrait of 19th‑century gender roles on the edge of transformation. Listeners will feel the creak of old timbers and the pulse of a household ready to challenge the currents that keep women ashore.
Language
en
Duration
~1 hours (75K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
Boston: Walter H Baker & Co., 1887.
Credits
Bob Taylor, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2023-11-05
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1825–1911
Raised in the bustle of Lowell’s textile mills, she turned early factory work into vivid writing about labor, reform, and women’s lives. Her books and activism helped preserve the story of the mill girls while pushing the women’s suffrage movement forward.
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