
In the grand rooms of a noble household, a tense operation unfolds as a skilled physician wrestles with a life‑threatening throat obstruction. The patient, a formidable and proud old man, lies under the watchful eyes of the house’s influential councilor, while the doctor’s hurried departure hints at deeper responsibilities beyond the bedside. A delicate balance of duty, compassion, and the pressures of high society begins to shape the scene.
Outside the operating chamber, whispers of a fragile child’s fate drift through the corridors, and the doctor’s promise to a desperate mother adds a thread of urgency to his already demanding schedule. As the evening shadows lengthen, the household’s servants move silently, their indifference contrasting sharply with the fragile hope that lingers in the sickroom. The story sets the stage for intertwining lives, hidden motives, and the quiet heroism that can emerge in even the most austere of settings.
Language
de
Duration
~13 hours (768K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Peter Becker 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
2018-03-18
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1825–1887
A bestselling German novelist of the 19th century, she won a huge readership with lively serialized fiction full of family secrets, romance, and sharp social observation. Writing under the name E. Marlitt, she became one of the standout literary voices of her era.
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