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As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. 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.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
350 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1892
About the author
Eliza Orne White
62 books4 followersEliza Orne White was an author of children's books, short stories and novels. Her father was William Orne White, a Harvard-educated Unitarian minister. Her mother was Margaret Eliot Harding, daughter of famed portrait artist Chester Harding and Caroline Woodruff Harding.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 23, 2019
Isn't it nice when you decide to take a chance on a book about which you know nothing, by an author you've never heard of, and it turns out to be good? I came upon this novel from 1892 in a used bookstore in Cape Cod in November, and something about the pretty simplicity of the binding appealed to me, as did the author's name, which despite not having heard of her seemed somehow familiar (later I realized it was almost certainly the "Orne" as in Sarah Orne Jewett that made it seem so; I don't know if the two authors are at all related). I read the first couple pages, and was introduced to the high school of a small New Hampshire town, to Harold Strong, a stern young teacher, and Persis Hastings, his most promising and most exasperating pupil.
After an opening in which these two characters have a battle of wills (which Persis wins) the book fast forwards several years, and Persis is now a teacher at the high school, and Harold, after a period of absence from the town has come back to serve as the principal. Persis, who is considered to be very plain, is whip smart, and fiercely ambitious, imagining a future for herself as a writer who will never marry. It's not too hard to see where this story is going to go, but to Eliza Orne White's credit, she doesn't try to pretend that the plot development we can all see coming is going to be a big surprise, but rather works it into the story gradually. It's also to White's credit that she can make Harold likeable (in a broody misunderstood sort of way), even when he has a tendency to say things like "Give it up, Persis, give it up. There have never been but three women novelists who have written well enough to justify them in taking up literature for a profession." One of the fun things about this book is the references to the various female authors Persis hopes to emulate (the three Harold considers worthy are George Elliot, Charlotte Bronte "and our own Mrs. Stowe"). Persis particularly admires Jane Austen (which was rather a more rarified taste in 1892 than it is today), and it's not hard to imagine that there is meant to be an echo of Pride and Prejudice in this story .
If there's any fault to be found in the book, it might be that White is so eager to write long witty things for Persis to say, that the style comes across as overly mannered. The eloquence of the dialogue comes at the expense of a certain naturalism, and I seldom felt truly immersed in the narrative. The ending also frustrated me slightly . However, I have to again give the author some credit for actually having me be in suspense for the last fifty pages or so. At a pivotal part of the story, Persis and a friend are reading aloud A Country Doctor, Jewett's novel about a woman doctor who renounces all thought of marriage for the sake of her career. White manages to make a convincing case for both sides of the question. She herself never married, and went on to publish many more books over the course of the next half century.
I wonder which one I'll read next.
Edited to add: the next one has turned out to be A Browning Courtship, and Other Stories, which so far I am loving. Also, I've subsequently searched online for an author photograph to add to White's goodreads profile, and found only the very youthful image you can now see. It's quite easy to see the young Persis Hastings in this face.
After an opening in which these two characters have a battle of wills (which Persis wins) the book fast forwards several years, and Persis is now a teacher at the high school, and Harold, after a period of absence from the town has come back to serve as the principal. Persis, who is considered to be very plain, is whip smart, and fiercely ambitious, imagining a future for herself as a writer who will never marry. It's not too hard to see where this story is going to go, but to Eliza Orne White's credit, she doesn't try to pretend that the plot development we can all see coming is going to be a big surprise, but rather works it into the story gradually. It's also to White's credit that she can make Harold likeable (in a broody misunderstood sort of way), even when he has a tendency to say things like "Give it up, Persis, give it up. There have never been but three women novelists who have written well enough to justify them in taking up literature for a profession." One of the fun things about this book is the references to the various female authors Persis hopes to emulate (the three Harold considers worthy are George Elliot, Charlotte Bronte "and our own Mrs. Stowe"). Persis particularly admires Jane Austen (which was rather a more rarified taste in 1892 than it is today), and it's not hard to imagine that there is meant to be an echo of Pride and Prejudice in this story .
If there's any fault to be found in the book, it might be that White is so eager to write long witty things for Persis to say, that the style comes across as overly mannered. The eloquence of the dialogue comes at the expense of a certain naturalism, and I seldom felt truly immersed in the narrative. The ending also frustrated me slightly . However, I have to again give the author some credit for actually having me be in suspense for the last fifty pages or so. At a pivotal part of the story, Persis and a friend are reading aloud A Country Doctor, Jewett's novel about a woman doctor who renounces all thought of marriage for the sake of her career. White manages to make a convincing case for both sides of the question. She herself never married, and went on to publish many more books over the course of the next half century.
I wonder which one I'll read next.
Edited to add: the next one has turned out to be A Browning Courtship, and Other Stories, which so far I am loving. Also, I've subsequently searched online for an author photograph to add to White's goodreads profile, and found only the very youthful image you can now see. It's quite easy to see the young Persis Hastings in this face.
Displaying 1 of 1 review