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Phantom Fortune, a Novel

by M. E. Braddon (1835–1915)

  • Free to read
  • 12 hours to read
  • 46 chapters
  • Reading level: 7th grade

"Phantom Fortune" by M. E. Braddon is a novel likely written in the late 19th century. This work intertwines themes of societal expectation, personal ambition, and romantic intrigue, centering around the character Lady Maulevrier, who epitomizes ambition and status in English society. The narrative seems poised to explore the complexities of her public persona contrasted against her private struggles, particularly concerning her husband’s questionable reputation and their family's future. The opening of the novel introduces us to a vibrant social scene in London, specifically at Lord Denyer's dinner party, where various societal figures gather. Lady Maulevrier makes her entrance amid whispers of scandal surrounding her husband, who is embroiled in a series of allegations due to his actions while serving as Governor of Madras. Meanwhile, Lady Maulevrier's character is equally compelling; she exhibits poise and confidence despite the dark cloud overshadowing her marital life. As she engages in lively conversation with other guests, the weight of her husband's disgrace remains an undercurrent, suggesting that the novel will delve into the interplay between societal reputation and personal resilience as the story unfolds.

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  • English fiction · 19th century

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Chapter I

PENELOPE.

People dined earlier forty years ago than they do now. Even that salt of the earth, the elect of society, represented by that little great world which lies between the narrow circle bounded by Bryanstone Square on the north and by Birdcage Walk on the south, did not consider seven o'clock too early an hour for a dinner party which was to be followed by routs, drums, concerts, conversazione, as the case might be. It was seven o'clock on a lovely June evening, and the Park was already deserted, and carriages were rolling swiftly along all the Westend squares, carrying rank, fashion, wealth, and beauty, political influence, and intellectual power, to the particular circle in which each was destined to illumine upon that particular evening.

Stateliest among London squares, Grosvenor—in some wise a wonder to the universe as newly lighted with gas—grave Grosvenor, with its heavy old Georgian houses and pompous porticoes, sparkled and shone, not alone with the novel splendour of gas, but with the light of many wax candles, clustering flower-like in silver branches and girandoles, multiplying their flame in numerous mirrors; and of all the houses in that stately square none had a more imposing aspect than Lord Denyer's dark red brick mansion, with stone dressings, and the massive grandeur of an Egyptian mausoleum.

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Contents

Show all 46 chapters
  1. Chapter I
  2. Chapter II
  3. Chapter III
  4. Chapter IV
  5. Chapter V
  6. Chapter VI
  7. Chapter VII
  8. Chapter VIII
  9. Chapter IX
  10. Chapter X: 'O Bitterness of Things Too Sweet.'
  11. Chapter XI: 'If I Were to Do As Iseult Did.'
  12. Chapter XII: 'The Greater Cantle of the World Is Lost.'
  13. Chapter XIII: 'Since Painted or Not Painted All Shall Fade.'
  14. Chapter XIV: 'Not Yet.'
  15. Chapter XV: 'Of All Men Else I Have Avoided Thee.'
  16. Chapter XVI: 'Her Face Resigned to Bliss or Bale.'
  17. Chapter XVII: 'And the Spring Comes Slowly Up This Way.'
  18. Chapter XVIII: 'And Come Agen Be It by Night or Day.'
  19. Chapter XIX
  20. Chapter XX
  21. Chapter XXI
  22. Chapter XXII
  23. Chapter XXIII: 'A Young Lamb's Heart Among the Full-Grown Flocks.'
  24. Chapter XXIV: 'Now Nothing Left to Love or Hate.'
  25. Chapter XXV
  26. Chapter XXVI: 'Proud Can I Never Be of What I Hate.'
  27. Chapter XXVII
  28. Chapter XXVIII: 'Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, in Wild Disorder Seen.'
  29. Chapter XXIX: 'Swift Subtle Post, Carrier of Grisly Care.'
  30. Chapter XXX: 'Roses Choked Among Thorns and Thistles.'
  31. Chapter XXXI: 'Kind Is My Love to-Day, to-Morrow Kind.'
  32. Chapter XXXII
  33. Chapter XXXIII
  34. Chapter XXXIV: 'Our Love Was New, and Then But in the Spring.'
  35. Chapter XXXV: 'All Fancy, Pride, and Fickle Maidenhood.'
  36. Chapter XXXVI: A RastaquouÈRe
  37. Chapter XXXVII
  38. Chapter XXXVIII
  39. Chapter XXXIX
  40. Chapter XL
  41. Chapter XLI
  42. Chapter XLII: 'Shall It Be?'
  43. Chapter XLIII: 'Alas, for Sorrow Is All the End of This'
  44. Chapter XLIV: 'Oh, Sad Kissed Mouth, How Sorrowful It Is!'
  45. Chapter XLV: 'That Fell Arrest, Without All Bail.'
  46. Chapter XLVI

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About this edition

This free edition of Phantom Fortune, a Novel by M. E. Braddon comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #10905, released 2004-02-01. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Novels, British Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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