02818cam a22003253u 4500 76591 UtSlPG 20260610134755.0 m cr n 260607r20251850utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 PS Southworth, Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte, 1819-1899 The deserted wife Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2025 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Release date is 2025-07-29 Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) The Deserted Wife by Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth is a novel written in the mid-19th century. It opens with a sharp critique of hasty marriage and easy divorce, then moves into a domestic drama set in Maryland’s fading planter world. The story centers on gentle, steadfast Sophie Churchill, who raises her orphaned niece on a decayed estate, becomes close to the kindly Emily May, and draws the troubling attention of the new minister, John Huss Withers. Themes of duty, temptation, and social judgment loom, hinting at betrayal and peril ahead. The opening of the novel combines an essay on the causes of unhappy marriages—defective moral and physical education, lax social discipline, and premature unions—with a vivid setup: the ruin of Heath Hall and the proud, impoverished Churchill line. Sophie, left to rear little Hagar with only an ancient servant, finds solace in the friendship of Rev. Senex May and his young wife, Emily; plans to unite their households end abruptly with the old pastor’s sudden death. His successor, the austere John Huss Withers, exerts an icy, magnetic presence that unsettles Sophie, culminating in a tense ride to church and a mysterious apparition in the woods. Back at Heath Hall, a desperate fugitive slave invades the house; Withers subdues him, but Sophie secretly frees the man and aids his escape. Withers then begins visiting Sophie, probing her mind and loneliness with cool, philosophical talk of “ennui” and purpose, while his personal interest becomes unmistakable. The section closes with his intimate address and Sophie’s wary withdrawal, foretelling conflict. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Originally published: New York: D. Appleton, 1850 American fiction -- 19th century Maryland -- Fiction https://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89104490966 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76591 117316 117316