Addie's Husband; or, Through clouds to sunshine

About the book

Adelaide Lefroy and her siblings still find room for jokes, quarrels, and improvised lessons around Nutsgrove, although the family home bears everywhere the marks of neglect. Their talk about future husbands seems at first another childhood game. Poverty and the loss of security soon give those questions a practical urgency, and Tom Armstrong's connection with the old property brings Addie to a decision that cannot be made in the spirit of the game. The novel sets youthful pride and family affection against the economic power surrounding marriage. Addie's responsibilities to others complicate her ability to distinguish what she wants from what circumstances appear to demand. The household's lively opening makes the threatened loss of its familiar world tangible before the romance develops.

• Family responsibility
• Marriage and economic power
• Pride amid hardship

Why read it

The children's teasing lessons and fortunes show what remains worth protecting in a household whose material support is failing.

English George Munro Seaside Library pocket edition No. 388, copyright 1885