
In a quiet Scottish town, a spirited young maid arrives at a modest draper’s shop seeking directions to the house of the venerable Mistress Macdonald. The journey takes her along winding hedgerows to a weather‑worn home that radiates the echoes of generations—children’s laughter, lovers’ whispers, and the soft hum of everyday life now muted by age.
Inside, the dining room becomes a stage for a weary family confronting the inevitable decline of their matriarch. The daughters, a stout married woman and a frail spinster, argue with the local minister and the family doctor over how best to care for a mind slipping backward through memory. As the new servant steps into this solemn household, she must navigate the tangled loyalties, quiet resentments, and the fragile hope that still lingers behind the fading gaslight.
Language
en
Duration
~7 hours (440K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2006-03-30
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
1858–1923
A Canadian novelist, essayist, and feminist voice of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, remembered for fiction that explored religion, conscience, and women’s inner lives. Her work often brought sharp social questions into intimate, character-driven stories.
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