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The English Orphans

Mary Jane Holmes

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Book Excerpt: 
. . .But this was Mrs. Bender's sick day, and Billy's entreaties only increased the dangerous symptoms of palsy from which she was now suffering, the scarlet fever having been given up until another time.

"If the s'lect men pay me well for it," said she, "I will take them what little time I have to live, but not without."

Billy knew the town could support them much cheaper where they were, so he gave up his project, and bought Mary a pound of seed cakes and Alice a stick of candy. Then, the moment the rain had ceased he got himself in readiness to start, for he knew how long the day would seem to Mary, and how much Alice would miss her cradle. Three times before he got outside the gate his mother called him back—once to find her snuff-box;—once to see if there was not more color in her face than there ought to be, and lastly to inquire if her mouth hadn't commenced turning a little towards the right ear! After finding her box, assuring her that her . . . Read More

Community Reviews

I gave it 3 stars for nostalgia’s sake. I read this for the first time when I was 9 or 10 and loved it. It was one of my treasures from my grandmother’s attic. Back then, I sobbed for Mary and got angry on her behalf, and rejoiced when she got her happy ending. Written in 1855, it’s very old-fashion

Even though somewhat predictable, I found I was still interested and it was a great gentle read before bed. This time period with all the social stratifications was interesting. Four stars just because it was a good rep of the writing of the era.

It's interesting what the age of digital books has done for literature. Prior to this, I had never heard of Mary Jane Holmes, even though she was a very prolific author and was, apparently, as popular as Harriet Beecher Stowe in her day. In one of my other Kindle books, there was a back page adverti

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