The Wall of Partition

by Florence L. Barclay

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1914. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XIII "many Widows Were In Israel' 7TEWED and reviewed during the practical * prose of breakfast, the happenings of the previous night took on a fantastic form, which made them appear to belong rather to the phantasm of slumber, than to the sober realities of waking hours. Surely he had dreamed that he reached out into space and found the Kind Voice; found her without the help of wires or of bells; aye, even without the assistance of that omniscient individual, known familiarly as "Exchange." Surely he had slept even more profoundly, and dreamed even more wildly, when the owner of the kind voice was promising, gently, to ring him up at 10.15 to-night. Yet he started, and kept his seat with difficulty, when the telephone-bell rang outside; and when Jake, instead of giving the hospital number, opened the dining-room door, saying: "You're wanted on the telephone, sir," Rodney dashed to the instrument, vexed at his delay, and perfectly certain who was awaiting him at the other end. Obviously she had thought he meant 10.15 A.m. instead of 10.15 P.M. He lifted the receiver. "Hullo?" he said, eagerly. "Hullo! Is it you?" "Of course it's me, old chap," came Billy's good-tempered voice, jovial and ungrammatical. "But, what's up? You sound rather as if I were a straw, and you, a drowning man! Are you bored stiff?" Steele mastered his annoyance, which indeed was with himself, rather than with Billy. "I'm all right, Billy," he said. "Jolly and comfortable as possible." "I've rung up," shouted Billy, "to say you really must come down to us at once. The fogs and cold must be so beastly in town. Here we have brilliant sunshine; the ice bears; we shall be skating on the lake to-morrow. Look up a train, and come to-day, old chap." "Thanks, Billy. I am grateful. But I can...

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1914

About the author

She was born Florence Louisa Charlesworth in Limpsfield, Surrey, England, the daughter of the local Anglican rector. One of three girls, she was a sister to Maud Ballington Booth, the Salvation Army leader and co-founder of the Volunteers of America. When Florence was seven years old, the family moved to Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

In 1881, Florence Charlesworth married the Rev. Charles W. Barclay and honeymooned in the Holy Land, where, in Shechem, they reportedly discovered Jacob's Well, the place where, according to the Gospel of St John, Jesus met the woman of Samaria (John 4-5). Florence Barclay and her husband settled in Hertford Heath, in Hertfordshire, where she fulfilled the duties of a rector's wife. She became the mother of eight children. In her early forties health problems left her bedridden for a time and she passed the hours by writing what became her first romance novel titled The Wheels of Time. Her next novel, The Rosary, a story of undying love, was published in 1909 and its success eventually resulted in its being translated into eight languages and made into five motion pictures, also in several languages. According to the New York Times, the novel was the No.1 bestselling novel of 1910 in the United States. The enduring popularity of the book was such that more than twenty-five years later, Sunday Circle magazine serialized the story and in 1926 the prominent French playwright Alexandre Bisson adapted the book as a three-act play for the Parisian stage.

Florence Barclay wrote eleven books in all, including a work of non-fiction. Her novel The Mistress of Shenstone (1910) was made into a silent film of the same title in 1921. Her short story Under the Mulberry Tree appeared in the special issue called "The Spring Romance Number" of the Ladies Home Journal of 11 May 1911.

Florence Barclay died in 1921 at the age of fifty-eight. The Life of Florence Barclay: a study in personality was published anonymously that year by G. P. Putnam's Sons "by one of Her Daughters.

Reviews

[Suzannah Rowntree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a shameful quantity of drippy Edwardian romance, and so I can tell you for certain that Florence L Barclay is by far the best. This guilty-pleasure read isn't quite up there with Barclay's best (that would be The Rosary) but it's still a fun read, just dryly humorous enough, with enough Christian content, that I didn't feel too guilty about reading it.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wonderful love story by Florence Barclay. It isn't as great as The Rosary, The Mistreess of Shenstone, or The Following of the Star, but it is a sweet story that has intrigue, suspense, and it ends on Christmas Day.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book may have been written in 1914 but feels like an old 1930's movie. The main character is a guy this time and one of those bitter angry writer types. The modernist writer who appears in your English class that you hate because there books are so depressing you need a shrink at the end.
At any rate Rodney decides to stay in his friend's apartment and avoid being found out as the writer of the 1910' version of "The Hunger Games." Problem is that the telephone line has been mixed up with the ER and he gets calls constantly from people wanting the hospital.
One day a lady calls and he is kinda creepily obsessed with this woman. What is even stranger is that she is not at all worried and finds it amusing. But things do get a lot less creepy as the story gets going so hang on.
Meantime he spends most of his time griping about his old fiancé and her marriage to Lord Hilary. This story has some unbelievable plot twist but for a light, clean read you can't do better. Barclay is better than the average Christian author today.
I really like her heroines and Lady Hilary is a totally period correct "strong" woman. She is my favorite character.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

To allow a book to appear under his own name is, to my thinking, one of the bravest things a man can do.

I was not a huge fan of this book. As the above quote suggests, Barclay spent a lot of time in this novel talking about writers, writing processes, and her philosophy of writing. All of which would be fine if she had been writing a nonfiction book about her authorial journey. But she wasn't. She was writing a romance novel. She just chose to make her hero an author so she could give him lines like the above nauseating quote and have her characters discuss things like the proper role of fiction. It was all a bit much for me. Especially since authors writing about writers is one of my biggest fiction pet peeves.

Overall I have to echo the objection raised by the heroine: "Does the true artist put himself into a book?" No, he doesn't. But it certainly felt like Barclay inserted herself into this book, and it made for a dull romance.

[Trine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I knew or knew of all of Florence Barclay's novels, but this was a total new found for me. Unfortunately the scanned edition I found on the internet misses some - actually many - pages especially in the beginning of the book, but I was still so enchanted with the story that I kept reading trying to guess what happened on the missing pages. And I got through a very lovely story, almost up to the standard of The Mistress of Shenstone.
It was good to meet Billy again - Florence Barclay's way of reusing her characters gives her books a feeling of known territory - but I would like one with him as the hero. This hero, Rodney Steele, is new and unknown, a sad, disillusioned hero, who gets his whole world turned upside down within a few days but several widows, the frayed widow, the bishop's widow and Lady Hilary, help him to get his bearings and get his orchestra in harmony.
2nd reading: Thanks to my darling girls I'm now in possession of one of the original copies from 1912 with all pages intact and have enjoyed the story in it's full extent.

[Loredana (Bookinista08) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this book as "really liked it" not because of its plot, which is pretty dull and predictable, but because of its moral and philosophical, if you will, teachings. It made me rethink the way I live my life and the way I look at love, in general. I liked the characters, they were not flawless, the dialogues between them were very true to life and it reminded me of real people, even real people from my family or circle of friends. I recommend it, definitely!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barclay's books always give me something to consider, wrapped in an engaging, early 20th century storyline.

I read this one on line at books.google.com as the one available for download on archive.org and other ereader sites is missing many pages.