Ruben and Ivy Sên: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
Ruben and Ivy Sên: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
Ruben and Ivy Sên is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Miln, Louise Jordan (1864–1933).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"Ruben and Ivy Sên" by Louise Jordan Miln is a novel written in the early 20th century. It centers on a widowed Englishwoman, Ruby Sên, and her two Anglo-Chinese children—Ruben, who looks English, and Ivy, who looks Chinese—as they navigate identity, prejudice, and high society in London. Ruby’s steadfast refusal to remarry, despite Lord Whitmore’s devoted pursuit, frames a family drama about love, loyalty, and belonging. The story especially follows Ivy’s coming-of-age amid social scrutiny and her longing to feel fully English. The opening of this novel introduces Lord Whitmore’s failed proposal and the divided reactions it sparks: Ivy is angry, Ruben relieved, and the Snows—Ruby’s kinsfolk—recall the costly courage of Ruby’s marriage to the Chinese gentleman Sên King-lo. We see Ivy’s torment over her Chinese features, her plea to Lady Snow to push Ruby into marrying Whitmore so she can claim an English name, and Sir Charles Snow’s quiet watchfulness over the mixed-heritage children. In Dorset, Whitmore comforts Ivy, who begs him to become her stepfather and even to adopt her; meanwhile Ruby, in a rose garden filled with memories of her late husband, gently but decisively refuses Whitmore again. Back in London, Ivy shines at her presentation but is shattered by a slight at the Academy, prompting a raw, painful confrontation with her mother about race, shame, and loyalty; Ivy demands Ruby marry Whitmore, and Ruby refuses. The section ends with Ivy’s calculated, breezy note to a cousin who had mocked her—drawing him into an uneasy visit that reveals both her wit and her wounded pride.
Book and edition facts
- Title: Ruben and Ivy Sên
- Author credits: Miln, Louise Jordan (1864–1933)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- China -- Fiction
- England -- Fiction
- Multiracial people -- Fiction
Read this edition
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.
Sources
More in Books & Authors
Keep reading
