
A young man swept up in the intoxicating heights of first love finds his world transformed in an instant. John Mitford, fresh from a dazzling romance that seemed to elevate his very soul, is thrust into the ordinary grind of a bustling bank, where the clang of coins and the hum of customers replace the poetic reverie that once guided him. The narrative captures his bewildering shift from soaring idealism to the stark, methodical reality of ledger‑keeping, revealing how his scholarly mind wrestles with a life that feels both trivial and alien.
Through vivid introspection, the story explores the clash between lofty dreams of a noble vocation and the practical demands of survival. As John navigates the cramped rooms on the outskirts of Camelford, his inner voice oscillates between yearning for a higher purpose and the disorienting pull of everyday duties. The opening offers a poignant portrait of youthful passion confronting the inevitable return to the mundane, inviting listeners to reflect on the delicate balance between aspiration and reality.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (330K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images available at The Internet Archive)
Release date
2021-05-02
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1828–1897
A hugely popular Victorian novelist and critic, she wrote with remarkable range and speed, turning out fiction, essays, biographies, and supernatural tales across a long career. Her work often brings everyday family life into vivid focus while also making room for mystery, history, and sharp social observation.
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