02279cam a22003133u 450000100060000000300070000600500170001300600020003000700050003200800410003704000110007804100170008905000070010610000470011324500240016026400510018430000470023533600260028233700260030833800360033450000310037050801760040152011630057753400730174065300370181365300200185085600520187085600430192278552UtSlPG20260610134824.0mcr n260607r20261875utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d  aUtSlPG 7aen2iso639-1 4aPS1 aStephens, Ann S.q(Ann Sophia),d1810-188610aBertha's engagement 1aSalt Lake City, UT :bProject Gutenberg,c2026  a1 online resource :bmultiple file formats  atextbtxt2rdacontent  acomputerbc2rdamedia  aonline resourcebcr2rdacarrier  aRelease date is 2026-04-26  aRichard 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.)  a"Bertha's engagement" by Ann S. Stephens is a novel written in the late 19th century. It centers on love, pride, and social pressure in a New England setting, following courageous Bertha Canfield, her steadfast suitor Egbert Fletcher, and the proud, impoverished Clara Anderson entangled with the reckless Edward Lane and the charismatic Waldon. Early chapters mix physical peril with moral choice and class tension.

The opening of the novel begins with a storm-swollen river and a disastrous bridge collapse, where Fletcher rescues Bertha at the last instant. Shaken, Bertha impulsively offers him her hand in gratitude, but he refuses to accept love born from obligation and resolves to leave until she can judge her heart freely. The scene shifts to a country tavern where Yale students carouse; Lane, recently suspended, broods and asks Waldon to plead his cause with Clara. Waldon visits Clara, is struck by her dignity and beauty, and softens Lane’s message while revealing his own fascination, just as Judge Lane arrives at Clara’s home to confront her, intensifying the social and personal conflict. (This is an automatically generated summary.)  pOriginally published:cPhiladelphia: T. B. Peterson & Brothers, 1875  aAmerican fiction -- 19th century  aRomance fiction4 uhttps://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/00869027340uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78552