A young man's storySarah DoudneyOmniClassics · Literature
A young man's story
Sarah DoudneyA young man recounts an unsettling encounter linked to the love he believed he had lost.
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About the book
Speaking quietly to friends at twilight, the narrator recalls his engagement to May Newton in the peaceful seaside village of Longbeach. Their happiness seems secure until poorly paid work in the City turns his frustration into irritability and damages the relationship. He admits his own selfishness rather than presenting the separation as a mystery of another person's conduct. Later, a train journey takes him past the familiar station, where an apparent sight of May interrupts both his plans and his understanding of what is possible. Doudney joins the supernatural incident to an ordinary emotional failure: the inability to protect affection from disappointment elsewhere in life. The intimate storytelling frame leaves the narrator's experience to unfold as a personal testimony of remorse, attachment, and unexpected connection.
- Love and remorse
- Supernatural encounter
- Work and disappointment
Why read it
The narrator's frank admission of his failings gives the mysterious incident an emotional foundation.
English story from The Girl's Own Annual, volume VII, 1886 Christmas extra