
A determined young woman sets out on a solitary journey across the English countryside, searching for the perfect cottage where she and her beloved can build a future. The narrative unfolds in the early days of the Great War, as she rides slow trains, stagecoaches, and walks along hedgerows, each landscape echoing her restless hope. Her letters are filled with vivid descriptions of golden fields, thatched roofs, and quiet villages that seem to hold the promise of peace amid the gathering storm.
When she finally arrives at a small, timeless village, the ancient church tower and the creaking inn awaken a deep sense of belonging, as if her ancestors were already waiting there. Yet even as she finds comfort in the hearth and the chatter of rooks against the sunset, news of the advancing war clouds looms, casting a shadow over her newfound sanctuary. The story captures the tension between personal longing and the uncertain world beyond, inviting listeners to share in a tender, wartime quest for home.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (171K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by sp1nd and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2013-05-24
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1864โ1955
A Wellesley professor who turned classroom insight into thoughtful fiction, essays, and poems, she wrote about compassion, conscience, and the limits of easy reform. Her work moved between college life, social questions, and literary criticism with unusual range.
View all books