
E-text prepared by MFR and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org)
A Little Surprise
At the Sign of the Rubber Plant
The Terminal
The Hinge
A Symphony in Coal
The Triumph of Father
The Portion of the Youngest
Polly Townsend’s Rebellion
The Mother of Emily
In these gentle, turn‑of‑the‑century sketches, everyday marriages become small dramas full of humor, longing, and quiet courage. The opening scene finds Anita Gibbons perched on a station bench, eager to surprise her husband with an evening stroll, only to watch the train slip away and wonder where his delay lies. Her quick wit and the familiar frustration of missed connections invite listeners into a world where simple moments reveal deeper feelings about partnership and expectation.
The collection moves beyond a single encounter, offering a dozen stories—ranging from a mischievous Christmas toy shop to a coal‑laden symphony of work and love—each illuminating the quirks and tenderness of married life in a changing America. Listeners will hear the rhythm of domestic routines, the surprises that test devotion, and the resilient optimism that keeps couples walking side by side.
Language
en
Duration
~4 hours (274K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2018-03-22
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1851–1924
Known for warm, observant stories about home life and relationships, this American writer built a steady readership with fiction rooted in everyday experience. Her work belongs to the tradition of domestic realism that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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