Cover of Kathleen's Diamonds; or, She Loved a Handsome Actor

Kathleen's Diamonds; or, She Loved a Handsome Actor

  • Free to read
  • 5 hours to read
  • 69 chapters
  • Reading level: 6th grade

"Kathleen's Diamonds; or, She Loved a Handsome Actor" by Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller is a novel written in the late 19th century. The story unfolds around Kathleen Carew, a beautiful young heiress grappling with the shadows of her past, marked by the tragic suicide of her mother and the complex dynamics with her stepmother, Mrs. Carew. As Kathleen navigates societal expectations and her romantic entanglement with the handsome actor Ralph Chainey, she faces trials that threaten to unravel her very existence. At the start of this dramatic tale, the narrative takes a somber turn as it reveals the suicide of Kathleen's mother, setting the stage for Kathleen's tumultuous life. Sixteen years later, Kathleen is depicted as a romantic, yearning for a connection with the handsome stranger who once saved her life. The opening portrays her internal struggles and the control her stepmother exerts over her, particularly regarding her feelings for the actor. This tension builds as Kathleen decides to defy her stepmother’s wishes, leading her to a series of choices that dramatically alter the course of her life. The blend of romance, tension, and impending tragedy creates a gripping setup that invites readers to delve deeper into Kathleen’s journey.

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Chapter I: "Alas! Why Did She Do It?"

What is the matter? Oh, nothing—a girl
Is found here in suicide rest.
Romantic? Of course; here's a rich, dark curl
On the beautiful, blue-veined breast.
AMELIA V. PURDY.

Incredible, you say?

Alas, it was too true!

She was dead by her own hand, the beautiful child-wife of Vincent Carew, the millionaire—dead in her youth and beauty, leaving behind her all that life held for a worshipped wife and loving mother; for upstairs at this moment in the silken nursery her child, the baby Kathleen, barely six months old, lay sweetly sleeping, watched by an attentive French bonne, while in the darkened parlor below, the girlish mother, not yet eighteen, lay pale and beautiful in her coffin, with white flowers blooming on the pulseless breast, hiding the crimson stain where the slight jeweled dagger from her hair had sheathed itself in her tortured heart.

She was so young, so ignorant, or surely she would have held back her suicidal hand—she would have taken pity on her child, the dark-eyed little heiress she was leaving motherless in the wide, wide world that, whatever else it may give us, can not make up for the loss of the best thing life has to offer—a mother's love!

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Contents

Show all 69 chapters
  1. Chapter I: "Alas! Why Did She Do It?"
  2. Chapter II
  3. Chapter III
  4. Chapter IV: "I Distinctly Forbid You to Know This Actor," Said Mrs. Carew
  5. Chapter V
  6. Chapter VI
  7. Chapter VII: "Mrs. Carew Is Going to Make You Marry Her Son," Said the Maid
  8. Chapter VIII: "Please Buy My Diamond Necklace," Said Kathleen
  9. Chapter IX
  10. Chapter X
  11. Chapter XI
  12. Chapter XII: "Kathleen, I Swear That I Will Avenge Your Murder!"
  13. Chapter XIII
  14. Chapter XIV
  15. Chapter XV
  16. Chapter XVI
  17. Chapter XVII: "Will You Be My Own Sweet Wife, Kathleen?"
  18. Chapter XVIII
  19. Chapter XIX: "Ralph Chainey Is a Married Man!"
  20. Chapter XX
  21. Chapter XXI
  22. Chapter XXII
  23. Chapter XXIII: "Papa, Darling, It Is I, Your Little Kathleen!"
  24. Chapter XXIV
  25. Chapter XXV
  26. Chapter XXVI: "I Would Lay Down My Life to Serve You!" Said Teddy
  27. Chapter XXVII
  28. Chapter XXVIII
  29. Chapter XXIX
  30. Chapter XXX: "My Darling Girl, I'm As Fond of You As Ever!"
  31. Chapter XXXI
  32. Chapter XXXII: "We Have Met — We Have Loved — We Have Parted!"
  33. Chapter XXXIII
  34. Chapter XXXIV
  35. Chapter XXXV
  36. Chapter XXXVI
  37. Chapter XXXVII: Ralph Chainey Is Driven to Desperation, and Turns on His Foe
  38. Chapter XXXVIII: "I Have Come for My Diamonds," Kathleen Said to the Jeweler
  39. Chapter XXXIX
  40. Chapter XL
  41. Chapter XLI
  42. Chapter XLII: "You Shall Not Marry Ralph Chainey!" Uncle Ben Cried, Violently
  43. Chapter XLIII
  44. Chapter XLIV
  45. Chapter XLV
  46. Chapter XLVI: "I Have Betrayed Myself. You Know My Heart Now."
  47. Chapter XLVII
  48. Chapter XLVIII: "Kathleen Has Mysteriously Disappeared."
  49. Chapter XLIX
  50. Chapter L: "She Was My Mother."
  51. Chapter LI
  52. Chapter LII
  53. Chapter LIII: "Oh, Sir, Have Pity on Me!" Prayed Daisy Lynn
  54. Chapter LIV: "Is This Your Niece?"
  55. Chapter LV
  56. Chapter LVI: "So Shines a Good Deed in a Naughty World."
  57. Chapter LVII
  58. Chapter LVIII: "I Will Never Humble Myself to You Again."
  59. Chapter LIX
  60. Chapter LX: "My Love Shall Call Him Back from the Grave!"
  61. Chapter LXI
  62. Chapter LXII: "God Bless Brave, Bonny Kathleen Carew!"
  63. Chapter LXIII
  64. Chapter LXIV: "Your Father Is George Harrison, the Convict!"
  65. Chapter LXV: A Startling DÉNouement
  66. Chapter LXVI: "I Will Go to the Old Haunted Mill," Said Kathleen, Bravely
  67. Chapter LXVII
  68. Chapter LXVIII
  69. Chapter LXIX: "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen."

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About this edition

This free edition of Kathleen's Diamonds; or, She Loved a Handsome Actor by Alex. McVeigh Miller comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #44819, released 2014-02-01. 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: Romance, Novels, British Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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