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Nobody
WHO IS SHE? "Tom, who was that girl you were so taken with last night?" "Wasn't particularly taken last night with anybody." Which practical falsehood the gentleman escaped from by a mental reservation, saying to himself that it was not last night that he was "taken." "I mean the girl you had so much to do with. Come, Tom!" "I hadn't much to do with her. I had to be civil to somebody. She was the easiest." "Who is she, Tom?" "Her name is Lothrop." "O you tedious boy! I know what her name is, for I was introduced to her, and Mrs. Wishart spoke so I could not help but understand her; but I mean something else, and you know I do. Who is she? And where does she come from?" "She is a cousin of Mrs. Wishart; and she comes from the country somewhere." "One can see that." "How can you?" the brother asked rather fiercely. "You see it as well as I do," the sister returned coolly. "Her dress shows it." "I didn't notice anything about her dress." "You are a man." "Well, you women dress for the men. If you only knew a thing or two, you would dress differently." "That will do! You would not take me anywhere, if I dressed like Miss Lothrop." "I'll tell you what," said the young man, stopping short in his walk up and down the floor;-"she can afford to do without your advantages!"
- GenresChristian FictionFiction
Kindle Edition
First published August 9, 1882
5 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Susan Bogert Warner
114 books25 followersBorn in 1819 in New York City, American novelist and children's author Susan Bogert Warner was the daughter of lawyer Henry Warner, and his wife, Anna Bartlett. Her early life was one of wealth and privilege, until her father lost his money in the Panic of 1837, and the family were forced to sell their home in St. Mark's Place (NYC), and move to a farmhouse they owned on Constitution Island, near West Point, NY.
Warner and her sister, Anna Bartlett Warner (author of the well-known children's hymn, Jesus Loves Me, This I Know), began writing in 1849, in order to improve their family's financial situation. Their work, for both children and adults, was largely evangelical. Susan Bogert Warner is primarily remembered for her debut novel, The Wide, Wide World (1850), although she wrote close to thirty additional titles, all under the pseudonym 'Elizabeth Wetherell."
Warner and her sister, Anna Bartlett Warner (author of the well-known children's hymn, Jesus Loves Me, This I Know), began writing in 1849, in order to improve their family's financial situation. Their work, for both children and adults, was largely evangelical. Susan Bogert Warner is primarily remembered for her debut novel, The Wide, Wide World (1850), although she wrote close to thirty additional titles, all under the pseudonym 'Elizabeth Wetherell."
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 8, 2020
Ebook here https://archive.org/details/nobodywid...
What a scrumptious old-fashioned novel! I love Warner’s work because you get so entirely absorbed in the characters and in their lives, plus you get to learn more about God along with them. Warner’s faith wasn’t any everyday set of rules...it’s about a living, daily, step-by-step with Jesus. Her characters get to learn this and to grow closer through the story.
This one’s delightfully lengthy, too! So many of hers are 500+ pages and it just makes my book-lover heart happy.
What a scrumptious old-fashioned novel! I love Warner’s work because you get so entirely absorbed in the characters and in their lives, plus you get to learn more about God along with them. Warner’s faith wasn’t any everyday set of rules...it’s about a living, daily, step-by-step with Jesus. Her characters get to learn this and to grow closer through the story.
This one’s delightfully lengthy, too! So many of hers are 500+ pages and it just makes my book-lover heart happy.
June 14, 2025
Delicious. Slow Christian romance. Full of substance. Very well developed characters with a real life feel. Worth reading.
So happy to have found this author. I didn't know she was a Christian. I'll be reading/listening to all other books written by her, too.
So happy to have found this author. I didn't know she was a Christian. I'll be reading/listening to all other books written by her, too.
December 16, 2008
Nobody gives quite a bit of insight into the early society of New England. Walk with a young woman from a northern country setting into the high society of city. Follow her through the understandable bungles of an "unschooled" person in society and see through her eyes the vanity or profitability of it. Besides the social commentary, Her desires and dreams are evident throughout the story. The author's mastery of her craft shows in the unexpected twists of plot. You'll find a fairly typical 1800s fiction ending.
June 13, 2024
Written in 1882, language was a bit different than our speech today, yet this little book was not hard to follow. It was intelligent and masterfully written, with deep insights into society, integrity, selflessness and faith; always faith. Beautiful!
The main character, Lois Lothrop, is the Nobody in the title. All the way through the book nearly everyone in New York society called her that, all but two men who found her fascinating.
Lois was no one but herself, completely unpretentious. She was a person of impeccable character and grace, with distinguished manners for a young day from the country who worked with her hands in the garden to help feed her grandmother and sisters. But because she had no pedigree nor money, the women in all families felt she was beneath their male relations. They worked tirelessly to save them from what they deemed societal suicide to be married to one such as Lois. It was comical, yet sad, but through it all she maintained the sweetness she had from the beginning.
The two men who were head over heels in love with her longed for a possibility to be close. Lois, on the other hand, kept her Grandmother's counsel to never consider marriage to an unbeliever. This was very important to her, as pleasing her God was paramount. Conversations with both these men (Tom and Philip) let her know they had poor views of "religion", calling her a puritan because, of all things, her faith made her content, happy even. For this reason she tried to avoid them. On the few occasions she had moments alone with either of them, or with the lady boarder, her joy was to speak of her faith.
With the boarder, Mrs. Barclay:
"I cannot imagine you in need of forgiveness. What had you done?"
"I had done nothing whatever that I ought to have done. I loved only myself,—I mean first,—and lived only to myself and my own pleasure, and did my own will."
"Whose will do you now? Your grandmother's?"
"Not grandmother's first. I do God's will, as far as I know it."
"And therefore you think you are forgiven?"
"I don't think, I know," said Lois, with a quick breath. "And it is not 'therefore' at all; it is because I am covered, or my sin is, with the blood of Christ. And I love him; and he makes me happy."
It delighted me when she stood firm in her faith and on the Word of God:
"And would you marry no one who was not a Christian, as you understand the word?"
"The Bible forbids it," said Lois, her colour rising a little.
"The Bible forbids it? I have not studied the Bible like you; but I have heard it read from the pulpit all my life; and I never heard, either from the pulpit or out of it, such an idea, as that one who is a Christian may not marry one who is not."
"I can show you the command—in more places than one," said Lois.
"I wish you would."
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, looking forward to picking it up each evening. Clean and inspiring!
****************************************
I looked at the versions of the book, of which there are many. They range anywhere from 175 Pages to over 700. I can’t imagine this book that long. I must have had a smaller version, but it seemed perfect to me.
Susan Bogert Warner also wrote under the name Elizabeth Wetherell.
Her sister, Anna Bartlett Warner, also an author wrote the most famous children’s hymn Jesus Loves Me, This I Know
You have to admire an author who posed for a picture like this… It’s a cross between, "I’m bored. Get this over with already" and "I’m completely okay with people seeing the real me"… (I don’t know how to insert a picture, so this is a link instead) photo
The main character, Lois Lothrop, is the Nobody in the title. All the way through the book nearly everyone in New York society called her that, all but two men who found her fascinating.
Lois was no one but herself, completely unpretentious. She was a person of impeccable character and grace, with distinguished manners for a young day from the country who worked with her hands in the garden to help feed her grandmother and sisters. But because she had no pedigree nor money, the women in all families felt she was beneath their male relations. They worked tirelessly to save them from what they deemed societal suicide to be married to one such as Lois. It was comical, yet sad, but through it all she maintained the sweetness she had from the beginning.
The two men who were head over heels in love with her longed for a possibility to be close. Lois, on the other hand, kept her Grandmother's counsel to never consider marriage to an unbeliever. This was very important to her, as pleasing her God was paramount. Conversations with both these men (Tom and Philip) let her know they had poor views of "religion", calling her a puritan because, of all things, her faith made her content, happy even. For this reason she tried to avoid them. On the few occasions she had moments alone with either of them, or with the lady boarder, her joy was to speak of her faith.
With the boarder, Mrs. Barclay:
"I cannot imagine you in need of forgiveness. What had you done?"
"I had done nothing whatever that I ought to have done. I loved only myself,—I mean first,—and lived only to myself and my own pleasure, and did my own will."
"Whose will do you now? Your grandmother's?"
"Not grandmother's first. I do God's will, as far as I know it."
"And therefore you think you are forgiven?"
"I don't think, I know," said Lois, with a quick breath. "And it is not 'therefore' at all; it is because I am covered, or my sin is, with the blood of Christ. And I love him; and he makes me happy."
It delighted me when she stood firm in her faith and on the Word of God:
"And would you marry no one who was not a Christian, as you understand the word?"
"The Bible forbids it," said Lois, her colour rising a little.
"The Bible forbids it? I have not studied the Bible like you; but I have heard it read from the pulpit all my life; and I never heard, either from the pulpit or out of it, such an idea, as that one who is a Christian may not marry one who is not."
"I can show you the command—in more places than one," said Lois.
"I wish you would."
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, looking forward to picking it up each evening. Clean and inspiring!
****************************************
I looked at the versions of the book, of which there are many. They range anywhere from 175 Pages to over 700. I can’t imagine this book that long. I must have had a smaller version, but it seemed perfect to me.
Susan Bogert Warner also wrote under the name Elizabeth Wetherell.
Her sister, Anna Bartlett Warner, also an author wrote the most famous children’s hymn Jesus Loves Me, This I Know
You have to admire an author who posed for a picture like this… It’s a cross between, "I’m bored. Get this over with already" and "I’m completely okay with people seeing the real me"… (I don’t know how to insert a picture, so this is a link instead) photo
May 19, 2017
The story started off very good. I felt an immediate connection to the main character. But towards the middle, it began to fizzle. Too much drama, running away and confused thinking. And the ending was very anticlimactic.
I enjoyed the author's other book, The Brass Bowl, much better. It had some great bantering between the two main characters.
I enjoyed the author's other book, The Brass Bowl, much better. It had some great bantering between the two main characters.
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June 3, 2016interesting early 20th century novel, mystery story set in nyc and area
February 24, 2026
I think this is one of my favorite Susan Warner books.
It's rather an unlikely plot, but satisfying fiction. And thought provoking. I suppose some - especially those who don't hold to her particular Christian world view - might call it preachy. But for me, it makes me think, while still satisfying my desire for a story.
One of the main themes is 1 Corinthians 6:14-6
It's rather an unlikely plot, but satisfying fiction. And thought provoking. I suppose some - especially those who don't hold to her particular Christian world view - might call it preachy. But for me, it makes me think, while still satisfying my desire for a story.
One of the main themes is 1 Corinthians 6:14-6
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews