Abbey: or, Taking it easy: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
Abbey: or, Taking it easy: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
Abbey: or, Taking it easy is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Guernsey, Lucy Ellen (1826–1899).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"Abbey : or, Taking it easy by Lucy Ellen Guernsey" is a didactic domestic fiction (a Sunday‑school tale) written in the late 19th century. It follows a heedless young servant whose motto of “taking it easy” clashes with households that expect diligence and Christian accountability, offering a moral contrast between careless indolence and conscientious work. The story tracks Abbey Jenkins as she blunders through Mrs. Ward’s home—burning a new green pail, staining a fresh ceiling, and ruining an heirloom cloth—then receives a pointed lesson on the sin of omission from Matthew 25. Hoping to reform her, Mrs. Powell swaps her own capable maid for Abbey and imposes strict, fair training, but Abbey resists discipline, oversleeps, and sulks. At home, industrious sister Elvira thrives in service, their disabled brother Harry earns by fine handwork, and little Totty declines after a fall traced to Abbey’s carelessness. Left alone one afternoon, Abbey hastens a reluctant fire by pouring kerosene on kindling; the can explodes, destroying the kitchen, birds, and garden. Dismissed, she remains self‑pitying while Elvira, Harry, and even Totty contribute; the narrator closes with a warning that “not meaning any harm” is no excuse, and that wasted talents and shirked duties burden others and dishonour God.
Book and edition facts
- Title: Abbey: or, Taking it easy
- Author credits: Guernsey, Lucy Ellen (1826–1899)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Christian life -- Juvenile fiction
- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction
- Household employees -- Juvenile fiction
- Laziness -- Juvenile fiction
- Teenage girls -- Juvenile fiction
- Youth -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction
Gutenberg collections
- Category: American Literature
- Category: Children & Young Adult Reading
- Category: Novels
- Category: Religion/Spirituality
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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