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Mistress Anne

by Temple Bailey (1869–1953)

  • Free to read
  • 5 hours to read
  • 24 chapters
  • Reading level: 5th grade

" Mistress Anne" by Temple Bailey is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story revolves around Anne Warfield, a schoolteacher who yearns for a more vibrant life, and her interactions with the residents and visitors at Peter Bower's lodge, particularly focusing on her feelings of loneliness and desire for connection. As she navigates her teaching responsibilities and her growing awareness of those around her, the novel explores themes of aspiration, social class, and the search for personal fulfillment. At the start of the story, readers are introduced to Anne on a cold day as she reflects on her life after the holiday season. Caught between the jovial company of the "Old Gentlemen" who frequent the lodge and her own youthful longing for romantic adventure, Anne grapples with her place in the world. She adopts a lonely drake named Diogenes and finds solace in nurturing him, showcasing her compassionate nature. The appearance of Richard Brooks and the vibrant party guests after the arrival of a train hints at new social dynamics that will come to play, setting the stage for potential romantic interests and the value of companionship that Anne deeply craves. As she interacts with young Peggy and contemplates her connections, both human and animal, the foundation for her emotional journey unfolds.

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  • Fiction

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Chapter I: In Which Things Are Said of Diogenes and of a Lady With a Lantern

THE second day of the New Year came on Saturday. The holiday atmosphere had thus been extended over the week-end. The Christmas wreaths still hung in the windows, and there had been an added day of feasting. Holidays always brought people from town who ate with sharp appetites.

It was mostly men who came, men who fished and men who hunted. In the long low house by the river one found good meals and good beds, warm fires in winter and a wide porch in summer. There were few luxuries, but it pleased certain wise Old Gentlemen to take their sport simply, and to take pride in the simplicity. They considered the magnificence of modern camps and clubs vulgar, and as savoring somewhat of riches newly acquired; and they experienced an almost aesthetic satisfaction in the contrast between the rough cleanliness of certain little lodges along the Chesapeake and its tributary tide-water streams, and the elegance of the Charles Street mansions which they had, for the moment, left behind.

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Contents

  1. Chapter I: In Which Things Are Said of Diogenes and of a Lady With a Lantern
  2. Chapter II
  3. Chapter III: In Which the Crown Prince Enters Upon His Own
  4. Chapter IV: In Which Three Kings Come to Crossroads
  5. Chapter V: In Which Peggy Takes the Center of the Stage
  6. Chapter VI: In Which a Gray Plush Pussy Cat Supplies a Theme
  7. Chapter VII: In Which Geoffrey Writes of Soldiers and Their Souls
  8. Chapter VIII: In Which a Green-Eyed Monster Grips Eve
  9. Chapter IX: In Which Anne, Passing a Shop, Turns In
  10. Chapter X: In Which a Blind Beggar and a Butterfly Go to a Ball
  11. Chapter XI: In Which Brinsley Speaks of the Way to Win a Woman
  12. Chapter XII: In Which Eve Usurps an Ancient Masculine Privilege
  13. Chapter XIII: In Which Geoffrey Plays Cave Man
  14. Chapter XIV: In Which There is Much Said of Marriage and of Giving in Marriage
  15. Chapter XV: In Which Anne Asks and Jimmie Answers
  16. Chapter XVI: In Which Pan Pipes to the Stars
  17. Chapter XVII: In Which Fear Walks in a Storm
  18. Chapter XVIII: In Which We Hear Once More of a Sandalwood Fan
  19. Chapter XIX: In Which Christmas Comes to Crossroads
  20. Chapter XX
  21. Chapter XXI: In Which St. Michael Hears a Call
  22. Chapter XXII: In Which Anne Weighs the People of Two Worlds
  23. Chapter XXIII: In Which Richard Rides Alone
  24. Chapter XXIV: In Which St. Michael Finds Love in a Garden

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About this edition

This free edition of Mistress Anne by Temple Bailey comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #23246, released 2007-10-30. 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.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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