Author
Jessie Fothergill
1851-1891
Jessie Fothergill (1851-1891) is a public-domain author available on Rivro. Read free books, explore subjects, and discover related classics.
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Books by Jessie Fothergill
The first violin: A novel
"The First Violin" by Jessie Fothergill is a novel written in the late 19th century. The story begins with a young woman named May Wedderburn, who grapples with personal challenges and a sense of loneliness despite being surrounded by family. The narrative introduces tensions stemming from her interactions with Miss Hallam, their enigmatic neighbor, and Sir Peter Le Marchant, a man whose intentions toward May cast a shadow over her emerging identity. The opening of the book sets the stage for May’s internal struggles. We witness her contemplative moments as she wrestles with grief and social isolation, despite the picturesque backdrop of her rural home. Following her conversation with Miss Hallam, who unexpectedly proposes tea, May is drawn into a world of complex relationships where societal expectations and her own desires collide. We also meet Sir Peter, whose unwanted affections threaten to compromise her sense of self, creating a sense of foreboding that pervades the opening chapters. As May's life unfolds, the interplay between her aspirations, familial connections, and looming uncertainties invites readers to reflect on themes of autonomy, identity, and social constraints.
The Wellfields: A novel. Vol. 1 of 3
"The Wellfields: A Novel. Vol. 1 of 3" by Jessie Fothergill is a historical fiction novel written in the late 19th century. The story takes place in the English countryside, weaving through the lives of the Wellfield family and their interactions with their environment, historical sites, and connections to the local gentry. Central to the narrative is Jerome Wellfield, the heir to Wellfield Abbey, and an exploration of his relationships, particularly with Sara Ford, an artist navigating the challenges of her aspiring career. The opening portion of the novel sets the stage for the rich historical backdrop and introduces key characters and their dynamics. It begins with a historical prelude detailing the evolution of Wellfield from a Saxon church to an estate linked to various religious and political upheavals. In the more contemporary timeline, we are introduced to young Jerome Wellfield, who is shown exploring the charming village and encountering Sara Ford, sparking an immediate connection. The characters are portrayed with a blend of charm and complexity, hinting at blossoming friendships and tensions that suggest a larger narrative woven into their lives and social standings.
The Wellfields: A novel. Vol. 2 of 3
"The Wellfields: A novel. Vol. 2 of 3" by Jessie Fothergill is a fictional work written in the late 19th century. The narrative continues to follow the intertwining lives of its characters, notably Jerome Wellfield and Nita Bolton, as they navigate themes of love, class, and the complexities of human relationships. The story unfolds within the backdrop of an idyllic English setting, shedding light on societal expectations and personal ambitions. Readers witness the emotional struggles and evolving dynamics between the characters as they confront their inner desires. At the start of the volume, Nita and Jerome find themselves at the Abbey after a dangerous encounter during a carriage ride, where Jerome saved Nita and herself from a runaway situation with the horses. As they recover from the incident, their relationship develops further amidst familial expectations and personal revelations. The opening chapters introduce the complexities of Nita’s feelings for Jerome, juxtaposed with her aunt Miss Shuttleworth’s warnings about the Wellfield family, laying the groundwork for future tension and conflict. The characters’ dialogues and interactions reveal their emotional states, creating a palpable atmosphere of danger, intrigue, and romantic tension, thus inviting readers deeper into their intertwined fates.
The Wellfields: A novel. Vol. 3 of 3
"The Wellfields: A novel. Vol. 3 of 3" by Jessie Fothergill is a work of fiction written in the late 19th century. This volume continues the emotional and relational complexities of its main character, Jerome Wellfield, as he navigates his entangled feelings between Nita Bolton and Sara Ford while grappling with responsibilities and societal expectations. The opening of this volume sets the stage for the continued turmoil in Jerome's life. He grapples with significant personal crises, facing money troubles and entanglements with women he's loved or felt obligated to, namely Sara and Nita. Wellfield learns about a potential job offer that represents a glimmer of hope among his challenges, but also finds himself embroiled in his own indecision about love and duty. Throughout these early chapters, a pattern of vacillation is evident as he struggles to reconcile his feelings for both women, which lays the groundwork for further emotional confrontations and decisions as the narrative unfolds.
Borderland : $b a country-town chronicle
"Borderland: A Country-Town Chronicle" by Jessie Fothergill is a novel written in the late 19th century. This story is set in a quaint English country town and revolves around the lives of several young boys during their childhood, transitioning into their adult lives fraught with friendship, social dynamics, and familial expectations. The narrative focuses on Michael Langstroth and his interactions with his brother Gilbert, their friend Roger Camm, and the temperamental Otho Askam as well as their relationships with the women in their lives, particularly Magdalen Wynter. The opening of the novel introduces us to a nostalgic summer of youth where four boys, the sons of gentlemen from varied backgrounds, enjoy carefree adventures in an idyllic garden by the river Tees. As the narrative unfolds, we learn about the distinct personalities of each boy: the noble and proud Michael, the gentle Gilbert, the struggling Roger, and the impulsive Otho. The story later shifts to their adulthood, revealing changing fortunes and the complexity of their relationships, particularly the dynamics surrounding Otho's return to claim his inheritance at Thorsgarth. Themes of social standing, romantic entanglements, and the contrasting lives of the boys are emphasized, setting the stage for deeper explorations into their evolving identities and societal pressures.
Probation : $b a novel
"Probation" by Jessie Fothergill is a novel written in the late 19th century. Set in industrial Lancashire on the eve of the cotton famine, it explores duty, class, and conscience through the principled mill overlooker Myles Heywood and the cultured, half-foreign Adrienne Blisset, with an absentee owner, Sebastian Mallory, and a vulgar heir, Frederick Spenceley, sharpening conflicts. Expect factory life rendered from the loom-floor up, social critique of wealth and responsibility, and a developing cross-class attraction tempered by pride and politics. The opening of Probation plunges into a Thanshope weaving shed, introducing Myles—a skilled, proud overlooker—amid the deafening machines and Friday pay. Shop-floor talk skewers the absent mill owner as American war threatens cotton supply. Home reveals Myles’s household: sturdy sister Mary, sensitive invalid brother Edmund, and a querulous mother. Wandering to the town-hall library, Myles notices the Oakenrod (Mallory’s house) and intervenes when Frederick Spenceley pesters a young woman reader. She is Adrienne Blisset, who is gathering musical references for her infirm uncle’s ambitious book on Art and Civilisation; Myles escorts her to their lonely house, Stonegate, on Mallory land. A visit follows: Mr. Blisset’s paralysis, austere intellect, and Adrienne’s diligent service emerge, while Myles’s fascination—and the novel’s social and moral stakes—quietly take root.
Oriole's daughter, a novel, Volume 2 (of 3)
"Oriole's daughter, a novel, Volume 2 (of 3)" by Jessie Fothergill is a novel written in the late 19th century. Set in Rome, it centers on Minna Hastings, an independent sculptor who befriends the gentle Fulvia Dietrich as the girl is coerced by her calculating mother into marrying the vulgar, wealthy Marchmont. The story explores duty, money, and maternal power versus personal freedom, with the sad, steadfast Signor Giuseppe Oriole—Fulvia’s true father—standing as a figure of silent sacrifice. Minna’s attempts to save Fulvia drive a tense domestic drama of pride, love, and cultural clash. The opening of this volume shows Minna offering Fulvia refuge in her studio, where she sculpts the girl’s likeness while Marchmont intrudes and Fulvia wilts under his attentions. Minna’s worldly friend Mrs. Charrington warns her to disengage, but Minna remains committed. As the wedding is rushed forward, Fulvia faints; Minna boldly offers to free her by supporting her for life, but Signora Dietrich counters with a sermon on filial obedience and reveals that Giuseppe Oriole is Fulvia’s father. Fulvia, torn yet resolute, chooses to marry Marchmont rather than abandon her mother. On the wedding day Minna spirits the shattered Giuseppe to Hadrian’s Villa; afterward he quits the house. Weeks later he reappears, broken and jobless, with the bitter news of an inheritance that arrived too late to save Fulvia, and Minna resolves to help him.
Oriole's daughter, a novel, Volume 3 (of 3)
"Oriole''s daughter, a novel, Volume 3 (of 3)" by Jessie Fothergill is a novel written in the late 19th century. It follows Fulvia Marchmont, a Roman beauty trapped in a lavish but loveless marriage to a sickly millionaire in an English country house, as her bond with her austere protector Signor Oriole (her unacknowledged father) collides with a deepening love for the painter Hans Riemann. Moving between Yewridge Hall’s staged opulence and haunting memories of Rome, it probes duty, reputation, and the price of freedom. Expect a cool, incisive social drama of endurance, temptation, and moral risk. The opening of the book shows the Marchmonts installed at Yewridge Hall, where Fulvia maintains an impersonal poise while tending her suspicious, suffering husband and enduring sleepless nights. Society cautiously embraces her; she is admired yet distant, and she openly favors Hans’s company, unsettling onlookers and her protective neighbor Minna Hastings, whose brother Richard reads the danger with cool clarity. As Marchmont’s illness worsens and servants chafe, Fulvia meets Hans by a secluded lake; he urges elopement, she asks for three days, and Signor Oriole later warns her that Hans’s character is unworthy, a judgment she rejects. When a specialist is summoned after a brutal attack, Fulvia, exhausted and resolute, plans to leave that very night after the consultation, while a moonlit coda shows Signor Oriole wakeful and Hans returning late, sullen and impatient.
Oriole's daughter, a novel, Volume 1 (of 3)
"Oriole's daughter, a novel, Volume 1 (of 3)" by Jessie Fothergill is a novel written in the late 19th century. Set in Rome’s expatriate circles, it follows Minna Hastings, a young English widow and sculptor, whose disrupted lodgings draw her into the raffish boarding-house Casa Dietrich and the orbit of its proud, learned, and impoverished “manager,” Signor Giuseppe Oriole. The story promises an intimate study of art, independence, class and national temperaments, and the uneasy pull between dignity and necessity in a city saturated with history. The opening of the novel traces Minna’s background—widowed early, self-supporting, and settled in Rome—until her beloved landlady retires, forcing a move. After a rebuff at a respectable pensione, her cousin Hans leads her to Casa Dietrich, a decayed but lively boarding-house whose motley guests (Americans, English, Germans, and Italians) provide comic and telling contrasts. There Minna encounters Giuseppe Oriole: shabby yet magnetic, impulsive, erudite, and fiercely sensitive about his menial duties and Italy’s past, sparring over Nero and even desserts at table. She takes rooms temporarily, endures a string of awkward scenes (her arrival with luggage, a laundry dispute, a botched dinner service), visits a fashionable salon, and, amid amusement and irritation, finds herself increasingly aware of Giuseppe’s pride, knowledge, and hidden burdens.