Loveday's history
by Lucy Ellen Guernsey (1826–1899)
- Free to read
- 7 hours to read
- 18 chapters
- Reading level: 7th grade
"Loveday's History: A Tale of Many Changes" by Lucy Ellen Guernsey is a historical novel written in the late 19th century. The story revolves around the protagonist, Loveday, a young girl who faces significant changes in her life, particularly dealing with the dissolution of a convent she was to join, her move to her uncle's house in London, and the trials associated with her new home. Throughout the opening chapters, we see Loveday adjusting to the contrasting environments of country and city life during a time of religious upheaval in England. The beginning of the novel introduces us to Loveday and her experiences as she is taken from her sheltered life in Somersetshire to the bustling city of London. After being raised by her kinswoman, Lady Peckham, her life is turned upside down when her intended convent is suppressed, leading to her living with her wealthy uncle and his family. The opening chapters detail her arrival in London, her adjustment to a more affluent lifestyle, her budding relationships with her cousins, and her interactions with the household staff. Loveday's journey also reveals the socio-political tensions of the time, as her uncle reflects on the past and a controversial religious climate, setting the stage for her character's development and the challenges she is likely to face.
- Historical fiction
- Great Britain · History · Tudors, 1485-1603
- Reformation
Read the opening
Chapter I
THE BEGINNING.
I SHALL never forget that beginning. It was like the lightning flash, which always comes suddenly, albeit one may have seen the clouds gathering for hours, and even have heard distant growls and mutterings of thunder. Of such growls and mutterings there had indeed been a plenty when I was quite a little maid, living with my kinswoman, Lady Peckham, in Somersetshire. I remember well my lady's wrath and consternation at hearing that my Lord Cardinal had put down some thirty or more of the small religious houses, especially convents of nuns, and had confiscated their revenues to the endowment of his grand college foundation at Oxford. There was no talk of pensions and sustenance for old or young. The poor souls were turned adrift to shift as best they might. If my Lord Cardinal were alive to see the havoc that hath been made since, he might bethink himself (if he ever happened to hear it) of a certain pithy proverb about showing the cat the way to the cream. The cat hath lapped the cream pretty clean in these days.
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About this edition
This free edition of Loveday's history by Lucy Ellen Guernsey comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #72722, released 2024-01-15. 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: Historical Novels, Novels, British Literature.
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