
audiobook
by Mrs. (Matilda Charlotte) Houstoun
SINK OR SWIM?
CONTENTS OF VOL. II.
SINK OR SWIM? - CHAPTER I. WHAT DID HONOR KNOW?
CHAPTER II. THE COLONEL LAYS A PLOT.
CHAPTER III. UNSTABLE AS WATER.
CHAPTER IV. THE HALF-REBUKE.
CHAPTER V. “THAT WAS HONOR’S MOTHER?”
CHAPTER VI. THE COLONEL GETS HIS QUIETUS.
CHAPTER VII. WAS HONOR GLAD OR SORRY?
CHAPTER VIII. JOHN WISHES THE PAST UNDONE.
In this atmospheric Victorian tale, a stern yet charismatic Colonel Norcott finds himself tangled in a web of family secrets and disputed inheritances. When a grieving widow, Mrs. Bainbridge, confronts him about a mysterious legacy left to his name, the conversation quickly spirals into accusations, old grudges, and whispered rumors of a hidden child. The dialogue crackles with regional accents and biting wit, immersing listeners in a rural Irish‑English setting where honor and reputation hang in the balance.
As the Colonel probes the tangled lineage of the late Winny and her orphaned daughter, the narrative unfolds with a blend of sharp social observation and lingering melancholy. Listeners are drawn into the lives of the Bainbridge family, the enigmatic lawyer Fagin, and the shadowy past that threatens to surface. The first act sets the stage for a compelling clash of duty, love, and the lingering weight of ancestral curses, promising a journey where every revelation reshapes the characters’ fragile world.
Language
en
Duration
~6 hours (349K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
London: Tinsley Brothers, 1868.
Credits
Sonya Schermann, Chuck Greif 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
Dec 31, 2023
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

d. 1892
A prolific Victorian writer, she turned long journeys and sharp observation into travel books, novels, and biographies. Her work ranges from lively accounts of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico to later writing on women’s rights and social questions.
View all books
by Mrs. (Matilda Charlotte) Houstoun

by Mrs. (Matilda Charlotte) Houstoun

by Vinceslas-Eugène Dick

by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé

by Dion Boucicault

by Abraham Cahan

by Maria Edgeworth

by Eliza Fowler Haywood