Cover of Faithful Margaret: A Novel

Faithful Margaret: A Novel

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

"Faithful Margaret: A Novel" by Mrs. J. M. Simpson is a romance novel written in the late 19th century. The story focuses on Margaret Walsingham, a devoted companion to the dying Ethel Brand, who faces dire circumstances following her benefactor's death. As Margaret grapples with the legacy left behind and the pressure to marry Ethel's grandson, St. Udo Brand, she is caught in a web of emotional entanglements and moral dilemmas. The opening of the novel introduces a poignant moment at the deathbed of Ethel Brand, emphasizing the deep bond between her and Margaret, who is fervently hoping for a last-minute reunion between Ethel and her estranged grandson, St. Udo. As Margaret reflects on her past and the unusual will that ties her future to St. Udo, the narrative sets the stage for a story filled with themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and the conflict between duty and personal desire. Tension mounts as Margaret fears the implications of the will and St. Udo's disdainful attitude towards her, revealing both class tensions and the complexities of love and obligation that characterize their intertwined fates.

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Chapter I

A DYING WOMAN'S COMMAND.

She was dying—good old Ethel Brand, the mistress for half a century of the hoary castle which stood like an ancient cathedral in the midst of the noble estate in Surrey, Seven-Oak Waaste.

No need now of these whispering attendants, and that anxious little physician; she would not trouble them more. No need for these grim medicine vials, marshaled upon the little table near her couch; she was past mortal needs or mortal help; her face, set in cold repose, seemed glistening with supernal light, while waiting for the fatal kiss of death.

And over her bent a woman, breathless, pulseless, motionless, as if carved from stone, listening, with straining ear, for each slow, rattling breath; watching, with great, glistening eyes, for each darkening shadow over the noble face—Margaret Walsingham.

No high-born dame was she; no fortunate next-of-kin, watching with decorous lament for the moment of emancipation from her weary wait for a dead woman's shoes. Only Mrs. Brand's poor companion, Margaret Walsingham.

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Contents

Show all 33 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
  11. Chapter XI
  12. Chapter XII
  13. Chapter XIII
  14. Chapter XIV
  15. Chapter XV
  16. Chapter XVI
  17. Chapter XVII
  18. Chapter XVIII
  19. Chapter XIX
  20. Chapter XX
  21. Chapter XXI
  22. Chapter XXII
  23. Chapter XXIII
  24. Chapter XXIV
  25. Chapter XXV
  26. Chapter XXVI
  27. Chapter XXVII
  28. Chapter XXVIII
  29. Chapter XXIX
  30. Chapter XXX
  31. Chapter XXXI
  32. Chapter XXXII
  33. Chapter XXXIII

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About this edition

This free edition of Faithful Margaret: A Novel by J. M. Simpson comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #36360, released 2011-06-08. 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: Romance, Novels, British Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).