A Duet: With An Occasional Chorus

by Arthur Conan Doyle

An Own Dearest Maude,--How I wish you were here, for I have been down, down, down, in the deepest state of despondency all day. I have longed to hear the sound of your voice, or to feel the touch of your hand! How can I be despondent, when in three weeks I shall be the husband of the dearest girl in England? That is what I ask myself, and then the answer comes that it is just exactly on that account that my wretched conscience is gnawing at me. I feel that I have not used you well; I owe you reparation, and I don't know what to do.In your last dear letter you talk about being frivolous. YOU have never been frivolous. But I have been frivolous--for ever since I have learned to love you, I have been so wrapped up in my love, with my happiness gilding everything about me, that I have never really faced the prosaic facts of life or discussed with you what our marriage will really necessitate. And now, at this eleventh hour, I realise that I have led you on in ignorance to an act which will perhaps take a great deal of the sunshine out of your life. What have I to offer you in exchange for the sacrifice which you will make for me? Myself, my love, and all that I have--but how little it all amounts to! You are a girl in a thousand, in ten thousand--bright, beautiful, sweet, the dearest lady in all the land. And I an average man--or perhaps hardly that--with little to boast of in the past, and vague ambitions for the future. It is a poor bargain for you, a most miserable bargain. You have still time. Count the cost, and if it be too great, then draw back even now without fear of one word or inmost thought of reproach from me. Your whole life is at stake. How can I hold you to a decision which was taken before you realised what it meant? Now I shall place the facts before you, and then, come what may, my conscience will be at rest, and I shall be sure that you are acting with your eyes open.

Genres: Classics, Romance, Fiction

204 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1899

About the author

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.

Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.

Reviews

[Debyi Kucera (Book&BuJo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is simply adorable!

The story of two lovers and the start of their married life, it is just so cute and heartwarming with chuckles throughout each chapter.

[Senga Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ciekawa koncepcja. Zazwyczaj romanse kończą się na końcowej romantycznej scenie. A tu opowieść dopiero się zaczyna.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a prolific writer and this charming tale is a nice change from the Holmes canon. In tone and setting, it reminded me a lot of "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. Conan Doyle doesn't quite have Wilde's witty skill, but he had his tongue firmly in his cheek while writing this. (It might make a good farce.) The situations and dialogue in this story of Victorian newlyweds are at times hilarious in a gentle parody of the popular "ladies' stories" of the time. Several instances of the author's philosophy on male-female relationships are woven in, as well as a couple of hints of his belief in an afterlife and possible reincarnation. The story is in parts a London travelogue, too, as the couple visit Westminster Abbey and sites important to Samuel Pepys and Thomas Carlyle. (A good map of London can be useful to have at hand.) In doing a little research, I found the Wikipedia entry a bit curt, as it cites only one reference of a rather negative review. Another opinion may be found at https://books.google.com/books?id=wD4...

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A minor work by Doyle about two young people who are very much in love. But it is VERY low key and very slow. I was waiting for some conflict or any other story line. But it was simply a lovely story about two people ... the Duet.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little book (120 pages?) about a young couple in love and married. It is sweet.