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My Friend Prospero

by Henry Harland (1861–1905)

  • Free to read
  • 3 hours to read
  • 38 chapters
  • Reading level: 6th grade

"My Friend Prospero" by Henry Harland is a novel written during the early 20th century. The story unfolds in an Italian setting and revolves around Lady Blanchemain, an engaging and curious Englishwoman, as she navigates her unexpected visit to a castle and encounters a mysterious young man named John Blanchemain, who is heir to a British title but appears to be living a humble life in Italy. The novel explores themes of class, identity, and the intersections of English society within a foreign landscape. The opening of the novel introduces Lady Blanchemain as she arrives at the castle, where she is met with some confusion regarding its accessibility. The reader is captivated by her vibrant personality, described in delightful detail, and her musings on the landscape around her. A chance meeting with John Blanchemain, a tall and affable young man well-versed in art and history, unfolds amidst their spirited banter about family lineage and social conventions. As they explore the castle together, intrigue builds around John's potential past and the cast of characters afoot within the castle grounds. This dynamic sets the stage for a story rich with exploration of passion, identity, and the influence of heritage against the backdrop of enchanting Italian scenery.

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Read the opening

Chapter I

My Friend Prospero

The coachman drew up his horses before the castle gateway, where their hoofs beat a sort of fanfare on the stone pavement; and the footman, letting himself smartly down, pulled, with a peremptory gesture that was just not quite a swagger, the bronze hand at the end of the dangling bell-cord.

Seated alone in her great high-swung barouche, in the sweet April weather, Lady Blanchemain gave the interval that followed to a consideration of the landscape: first, sleeping in shadowy stillness, the formal Italian garden, its terraced lawns and metrical parterres, its straight dark avenues of ilex, its cypresses, fountains, statues, balustrades; and then, laughing in the breeze and the sun, the wild Italian valley, a forest of blossoming fruit-trees, with the river winding and glinting in its midst, with olive-clad hills blue-grey at either side, and beyond the hills, peering over their shoulders, the snow-peaks of mountains, crisp against the sky, and in the level distance the hazy shimmer of the lake.

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Contents

Show all 38 chapters
  1. Part First
  2. Chapter I
  3. Chapter II
  4. Chapter III
  5. Chapter IV
  6. Chapter V
  7. Chapter VI
  8. Chapter VII
  9. Chapter VIII
  10. Chapter IX
  11. Part Second
  12. Chapter I
  13. Chapter II
  14. Chapter III
  15. Chapter IV
  16. Chapter V
  17. Chapter VI
  18. Part Third
  19. Chapter I
  20. Chapter II
  21. Chapter III
  22. Chapter IV
  23. Part Fourth
  24. Chapter I
  25. Chapter II
  26. Chapter III
  27. Chapter IV
  28. Chapter V
  29. Chapter VI
  30. Part Fifth
  31. Chapter I
  32. Chapter II
  33. Chapter III
  34. Chapter IV
  35. Chapter V
  36. Chapter VI
  37. Part Sixth
  38. Chapter I
  39. Chapter II
  40. Chapter III
  41. Chapter IV
  42. Chapter V
  43. Chapter VI
  44. Chapter VII

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About this edition

This free edition of My Friend Prospero by Henry Harland comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #14682, released 2005-01-13. 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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