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Devota
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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First published January 1, 1907
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About the author
Augusta Jane Evans Wilson
19 books4 followersAugusta Jane Wilson, or Augusta Evans Wilson, (May 8, 1835 – May 9, 1909) was an American Southern author and one of the pillars of Southern literature. She wrote nine novels: Inez (1850), Beulah (1859), Macaria (1863), St. Elmo (1866), Vashti (1869), Infelice (1875), At the Mercy of Tiberius (1887), A Speckled Bird (1902), and Devota (1907). Given her support for the Confederate States of America from the perspective of a Southern patriot, and her literary activities during the American Civil War, she can be deemed as having contributed decisively to the literary and cultural development of the Confederacy in particular, and of the South in general, as a civilization.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 7, 2013
Compared to the usual Augusta Evans books, this is a mere short story. There is not time for the detail she usually spent on her writing, and yet the story is still excellent, and short and sweet little love story, with a few characteristic political points thrown in for good measure (after all, it wouldn't be Augusta Evans if she didn't make a political point and refer to Hebrew or some other ancient language for some reason!). I enjoyed the quick read--and the pictures were gorgeous!
October 9, 2015
As with all of Augusta Evans Wilson's books, "Devota" is beautifully written. The colorful illustrations are extraordinary. The most amazing thing about the book is that Augusta dictated it to her niece.
"Devota" is the last of Augusta's nine novels. She was in her 70s when she dictated it because she could not see well enough to write.
I had some difficulty getting into the story, but--as always--her writing style was smooth and flawless. What a career! What a writer! The very best.
"Devota" is the last of Augusta's nine novels. She was in her 70s when she dictated it because she could not see well enough to write.
I had some difficulty getting into the story, but--as always--her writing style was smooth and flawless. What a career! What a writer! The very best.
October 2, 2013
Based on what I have read about the author, my expectations for this book were high. I was greatly disappointed. Minimal character development and no plot line to keep the reader interested. My book is a first edition and the biggest enjoyment I had in reading this was holding the book, touching such a high level of paper stock, and thinking of the history of those who first owned it. The illustrations were nice but overall this is not a book I would recommend.
September 19, 2022
Augusta Evans Wilson’s Devota is a novella of “Beaux, Belles and Brains.” situated in “the era of sensational fads and whimsies, and of spectacular philanthropic feats…For the war had not yet blown away the clouds that hid it and set it as a fixed blaze in the constellation of Immortality.”
“An American clergyman went with them to the front of the Church of Ste. Devota, and married them there–while the January festival procession in honor of the saint thronged the church. That explains the singular misnomer of your friend’s baptismal label–Devota. The soul of the girl martyr, whose burial was dove conducted, was supposed to hover in benediction over the nuptial ceremony, hence the only child of this marriage was christened Devota.”
“Her character…seems to most of us an enigma…an attempt at intimacy with her would prove as satisfactory and responsive as a flirtation with the Sphinx…Dear old, pre-sanctified cat!..Some pretty, vixenish kitten of a girl has clawed and frazzled his heart strings.”
The heart strings belong to Governor Armitage, a self-proclaimed eternal bachelor spurned by Devota years ago in a former misunderstanding. No man and no woman “has failed to find dyspeptics, even hectics, in all its intercourse of the sexes.” And when the two involuntarily reunite thirteen years later, their tête-à-tête “contributes curry, horse-radish and Tabasco to the conversational menu.”
When Armitage is proven innocent, “The lofty distinction you have attained is the dividing wall [Devota] could never scale.” However, Armitage asserts, “It is my right to readjust the balance; in one scale I lay all civic honors, the other holds my life-long Sweetheart outweighing every other earthly treasure…the only real crown that can glorify a man’s life–the tender love of a faithful, pure wife!”
“An American clergyman went with them to the front of the Church of Ste. Devota, and married them there–while the January festival procession in honor of the saint thronged the church. That explains the singular misnomer of your friend’s baptismal label–Devota. The soul of the girl martyr, whose burial was dove conducted, was supposed to hover in benediction over the nuptial ceremony, hence the only child of this marriage was christened Devota.”
“Her character…seems to most of us an enigma…an attempt at intimacy with her would prove as satisfactory and responsive as a flirtation with the Sphinx…Dear old, pre-sanctified cat!..Some pretty, vixenish kitten of a girl has clawed and frazzled his heart strings.”
The heart strings belong to Governor Armitage, a self-proclaimed eternal bachelor spurned by Devota years ago in a former misunderstanding. No man and no woman “has failed to find dyspeptics, even hectics, in all its intercourse of the sexes.” And when the two involuntarily reunite thirteen years later, their tête-à-tête “contributes curry, horse-radish and Tabasco to the conversational menu.”
When Armitage is proven innocent, “The lofty distinction you have attained is the dividing wall [Devota] could never scale.” However, Armitage asserts, “It is my right to readjust the balance; in one scale I lay all civic honors, the other holds my life-long Sweetheart outweighing every other earthly treasure…the only real crown that can glorify a man’s life–the tender love of a faithful, pure wife!”
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews