
audiobook
CHAPTER I.—THE HIRED FOLK.
CHAPTER II.—THE STORY OF LEMUEL.
CHAPTER III.—AUNT SABRINA.
CHAPTER IV.—THE TWO YOUNG WOMEN.
CHAPTER V.—THE FUNERAL.
CHAPTER VI.—IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY.
CHAPTER VII.—THE THREE BROTHERS.
CHAPTER VIII.—ALBERT’S PLANS.
CHAPTER IX.—AT “M’TILDY’s” BEDSIDE.
CHAPTER X.—THE FISHING PARTY.
In a sun‑bleached farmstead on the edge of a rapidly expanding city, the day’s work is punctuated by the clatter of kitchen knives and the low murmur of gossip. Milton, a hard‑working hired hand, and Alvira, the house‑maid with a quick tongue, navigate a world of patched overalls, creaking barns, and the lingering scent of fresh‑baked pie. Their conversation drifts from the mundane—peeling apples, mending dough—to the uneasy undercurrent of a recent death and the arrival of a new family, the Richardsons, whose presence seems to stir old anxieties.
The novel follows these ordinary people as they grapple with loyalty, survival, and the quiet desperation that simmers beneath rural life. Through vivid, unvarnished scenes, it paints a portrait of a community caught between tradition and the encroaching tide of modernity, where every whispered rumor can shift the fragile balance of hope and hardship. Listeners will find themselves drawn into the rhythms of hard‑won labor and the subtle dramas that define each day’s quiet struggle.
Language
en
Duration
~9 hours (550K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by David Widger from page images generously provided by the Internet Archive
Release date
2017-06-26
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1856–1898
An American journalist-novelist who turned sharp reporting and close observation into vivid fiction, he is best remembered for The Damnation of Theron Ware. His career carried him from upstate New York newsrooms to London, where he reported on Europe while writing novels that still feel lively and modern.
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