Stopping the leak: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
Stopping the leak: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
Stopping the leak is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Leslie, Madeline (1815–1893).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"Stopping the leak" by Madeline Leslie is a moral domestic novel written in the mid-19th century. It traces how waste, dishonesty, and intemperance drain both fortune and character, and how shrewd, warm-hearted Aunt Mercy Lovell helps a naive young couple—Lily and Lawrence Everett—and the struggling Allen family learn economy, duty, and self-control. The opening of the novel shows Aunt Mercy visiting the lavish Everett home and instantly sensing “a leak” in a household where careless spending and scheming servants flourish while Lily knows little of housekeeping. Her quiet reconnoissance exposes waste and theft, she counsels Lawrence, recounts her own youthful heartbreak that left her a guardian to his family, and then, after his ill-judged leniency, departs. The narrative shifts to Mary and Joseph Allen—kin to Lawrence—whose farm is lost to drink until a temperance pledge and Aunt Mercy’s aid set them to work, school, and thrift. When a business crisis looms for Lawrence, Aunt Mercy returns, catches the servants in a theft ring with a grocer, and has them arrested, while Lily begins learning practical economy. The excerpt closes with the reformed Allens modestly prospering—Joseph as head gardener, a cow and chickens secured, and children diligent at school and work, earning the goodwill of their employers.
Book and edition facts
- Title: Stopping the leak
- Author credits: Leslie, Madeline (1815–1893)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Aunts -- Juvenile fiction
- Christian life -- Juvenile fiction
- Diligence -- Juvenile fiction
- Home economics -- Juvenile fiction
- Household employees -- Juvenile fiction
- Marriage -- Juvenile fiction
- Theft -- Juvenile fiction
Gutenberg collections
- Category: American Literature
- Category: Novels
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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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