
A breezy summer day in the New England town of Ellicottville finds the handsome, carefree Everard Forrest lounging beneath a maple, when two urgent letters arrive at once. One summons him to the local theater, where a frantic friend needs a stand‑in groom for a hastily staged wedding scene, promising a night of whispered romance and comic mishaps. The other, a cryptic missive from a mysterious “Rossie,” hints at hidden family business and a possible inheritance that could change his fortunes.
As Everard grapples with the absurdity of playing bridegroom and the intrigue of the unknown sender, the novel unfolds a lively portrait of small‑town life, familial expectations, and the tangled webs of love and duty. With witty dialogue and vivid scenery, the first act sets the stage for a story where humor and heartfelt moments intertwine, inviting listeners to follow Everard’s journey through the quirks and secrets of the Forrest household.
Language
en
Duration
~14 hours (823K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
United States: G. W. Carleton and Co., Publishers, 1879.
Credits
Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2023-04-06
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1825–1907
A hugely popular 19th-century novelist, she wrote emotionally charged stories of family life, love, loss, and moral choices that reached a vast American readership. Her books were bestsellers in their day, with themes drawn from small-town and rural life in both the North and the South.
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