
THE WIDOW BARNABY. - BY FRANCES TROLLOPE, - AUTHOR OF "THE VICAR OF WREXHILL," "A ROMANCE OF VIENNA," ETC. - IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. - LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. - 1839. - LONDON: PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, Dorset Street, Fleet Street.
THE WIDOW BARNABY.
CHAPTER I. - INTRODUCTION TO THE FAMILY OF THE FUTURE MRS. BARNABY.—FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES.—MATERNAL LOVE.—PREPARATIONS FOR A FETE.
CHAPTER II. - A SISTERLY VISIT, AND A CHEERFUL RECEPTION.—THE RETREAT OF A RURAL HEIRESS.—INTERESTING CONVERSATION.—AN UNSATISFACTORY LETTER.
CHAPTER III. - GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST INTERESTING OF THE SILVERTON LOCALITIES—A RENCONTRE NOT UNEXPECTED.—A SUCCESSFUL MANŒUVRE.
CHAPTER IV. - A WEDDING, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.—A TRANSFER OF PROPERTY.—MISS MARTHA RECEIVES A PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE.—ANOTHER EXPEDITION TO COMPTON BASETT.
CHAPTER V. - A VISIT FROM THE HEIRESS.—MISS AGNES WILLOUGHBY IS SENT TO SCHOOL.
CHAPTER VI. - WEDDED HAPPINESS.—DEATH OF MRS. COMPTON.—THE EX-CURATE BROUGHT INTO A PEACEFUL HARBOUR.—HE FALLS SICK, AND HIS SISTER AND GRANDCHILD ARE SUMMONED.
CHAPTER VII. - THE ELEGANCE OF MRS. BARNABY DISPLAYED.—ITS EFFECT ON HER AUNT BETSY.—INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE BROTHER AND SISTER.
CHAPTER VIII. - SOLITARY MEDITATION AND IMPORTANT RESOLUTIONS.—AGNES WILLOUGHBY ARRIVES AT SILVERTON.—HER GRANDFATHER GIVES HER HIS BLESSING, AND DIES.—MISS COMPTON MAKES A SUDDEN RETREAT.
In the quiet Devonshire village of Silverton, a young woman from the respectable yet modest Compton family must navigate the tangled legacy of her father’s will. The estate is divided, leaving her sister with a modest inheritance while her mother, driven by pride, resents the split and the future hardships it threatens. As the family prepares for a local fête, the heroine’s gentle wit and quiet determination begin to shape her path amid the social expectations of the era.
Against a backdrop of rural charm and lingering family tensions, she confronts the practical challenges of limited means and the subtle pressures of genteel society. The narrative paints a vivid portrait of early‑19th‑century provincial life, where affection, duty, and the quest for independence intertwine. Listeners will be drawn into her world of heartfelt resilience, awaiting the choices that will define her future.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (337K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Delphine Lettau, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2011-06-30
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1780–1863
A sharp-eyed English novelist and travel writer, she turned family hardship into an astonishingly productive literary career. Best known for Domestic Manners of the Americans, she wrote with energy, wit, and a strong interest in the social questions of her time.
View all books
by Frances Milton Trollope

by Frances Milton Trollope

by Frances Milton Trollope

by Anne Brontë

by Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary) Yonge

by Sarah Grand

by Anthony Trollope

by Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens