
BY ELIZABETH STODDARD
PREFACE.
TO MRS. KATHARINE HOOKER - OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - THESE NOVELS ARE DEDICATED IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF A KIND DEED - ELIZABETH STODDARD - CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
In a small New England village, the Morgeson family drifts through the rhythm of seasons and social duty. The narrative follows the lives of its members, from the stern matriarch who guards ancestral land to a restless young woman craving something beyond the prescribed duties of home. Their daily interactions—harvests, church gatherings, and whispered gossip—paint a vivid picture of a world caught between the comfort of tradition and the stirrings of modern ambition.
As the story unfolds, personal desires clash with communal expectations. A marriage arranged for convenience reveals both tenderness and constraint, while a sibling’s secret love for literature hints at a yearning for broader horizons. Through intimate scenes and keen observations, the novel captures the quiet struggles of people striving to define themselves while honoring the legacy that shaped them.
Language
en
Duration
~9 hours (552K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
May 1, 2004
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1823–1902
A sharp, original 19th-century American voice, she wrote novels and poems that often pushed against the social limits placed on women. Though not as widely known as some of her peers, her work has earned lasting attention for its intensity and independence.
View all books
by Elizabeth Stoddard

by Elizabeth Stoddard

by Vinceslas-Eugène Dick

by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé

by Royall Tyler

by Abraham Cahan

by Eliza Fowler Haywood

by Lady (Sydney) Morgan