
Percival Hascombe, the second son of an English earl, drifts through society with a practiced air of genteel boredom. Charged with preserving his family’s name, he has been presented with a parade of eligible women, each dismissed with his exacting standards. When the poised Lady Hortense Vevay arrives for a hunting season, their mutual perfection seems to promise a seamless match, and an engagement is swiftly arranged.
The union, however, unravels almost as quickly as it was forged, leaving Percival stunned and the county buzzing with rumor. Disgraced and unwilling to remain under the weight of scandal, he abandons England, boarding a ship bound for America and later Hong Kong in search of fresh horizons. Along the way, his trademark ennui meets new cultures and unexpected encounters, offering the possibility that a life once deemed dull might finally hold a spark worth pursuing.
Language
en
Duration
~3 hours (210K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Kentuckiana Digital Library, David Garcia and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net/
Release date
2005-02-26
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1870–1942
Best known for creating the beloved Mrs. Wiggs, this Kentucky novelist wrote warm, lively stories that mixed humor with sympathy for people living on the margins. Her most famous book became a major bestseller and helped bring wider attention to life in Louisville’s poor neighborhoods.
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