Cover of Holiday stories

Holiday stories

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

"Holiday Stories" by Ruth Lamb is a collection of short stories written in the late 19th century. The stories explore themes of familial relationships, personal resilience, and societal expectations, focusing on characters navigating their inner and outer conflicts, particularly in the context of the home and family. Among these characters are Lady Longridge, an old matriarch with a complex relationship with her granddaughter Margaretta, who faces her own challenges as she seeks to find love and acceptance. At the start of the work, we are introduced to Lady Longridge and her maid Thorley, who is tasked with navigating the challenges posed by her temperamental mistress. The first chapter sets the stage for the dynamic in their household, particularly with the return of Margaretta, Lady Longridge's granddaughter, who is adjusting to life within the oppressive environment of Northbrook Hall. Numerous mentions of Lady Longridge’s vexing nature and Margaretta’s struggles highlight the emotional strain within this familial setup, suggesting a story filled with tension and conflict while offering glimpses of hope through the affection shown by Thorley towards Margaretta. Through the correspondence with her absent mother, Margaretta's longing for understanding and connection becomes evident, indicating an underlying journey for love and acceptance within a rigid family structure.

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  • Children's stories

Read the opening

Chapter I: Like Father Unlike Son

MISTRESS AND MAID.—A BRIDE'S HOMECOMING.

"THORLEY; go and tell Miss Margaretta to make less noise. How can I get my afternoon nap with that girl screeching and screaming loud enough to be heard beyond the park? I suppose she thinks I cannot be disturbed by her noise when she is out of doors, though I have told her twenty times already that she has a voice like a railway-whistle, and that it travels as far as one. It seems to me I cannot get out of reach of it. Thorley, why don't you go? What are you waiting for?"

The last questions were uttered in such a shrill tone, and with such evident irritation, that the pale face of the listener flushed, and she answered in a frightened voice—

"I thought your ladyship was speaking to me, and I waited for you to finish."

"I was doing nothing of the kind. I gave you an order which might have been attended to by this time. Then I went on thinking aloud, and you stood staring there, and listening in place of going about your business. Go now. Wait! I cannot hear the girl's voice. She has stopped, but she will begin again, so go all the same."

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Contents

Show all 28 chapters
  1. Chapter I: Like Father Unlike Son
  2. Chapter II
  3. Chapter III: "Men May Come and Men May Go," But I Stay on for Ever
  4. Chapter IV: The Mouse Helps the Lioness, and Margaretta Gains a Third Friend
  5. Chapter V
  6. Chapter VI: Anxious Days. — A Painful Discovery
  7. Chapter VII
  8. Chapter I
  9. Chapter II
  10. Chapter III
  11. Chapter IV
  12. Chapter V
  13. Chapter I
  14. Chapter II
  15. Chapter III
  16. Chapter I: "Stepbrother Dick."
  17. Chapter II: "Silence Is Golden."
  18. Chapter III
  19. Chapter IV
  20. Chapter V
  21. Chapter VI
  22. Chapter I
  23. Chapter II
  24. Chapter III
  25. Chapter I
  26. Chapter II
  27. Chapter III
  28. Chapter IV

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About this edition

This free edition of Holiday stories by Ruth Lamb comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #71661, released 2023-09-16. 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: Short Stories, Novels.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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