The Widow Davis and the young milliners: A story for young ladies: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
The Widow Davis and the young milliners: A story for young ladies: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The Widow Davis and the young milliners: A story for young ladies 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:
"The Widow Davis and the Young Milliners: A Story for Young Ladies" by Guernsey is a novel written in the mid-19th century. This work centers on the lives of young women working in the millinery trade, exploring their moral challenges, personal growth, and the influence of a compassionate Christian mentor, the widow Davis. Through its focus on everyday struggles, friendship, and faith, the book likely seeks to impart lessons on character, religious devotion, and making virtuous choices amidst temptation. Main characters include Mary Davis, her mother (the widow Davis), and the sisters Jane and Ellen Saunders, whose contrasting approaches to life and religion provide much of the emotional and thematic depth. The opening of the novel introduces Mrs. Davis, who, after a life marked by hardship and declining health, relies on her daughter Mary’s earnings as a milliner. Sundays offer Mary solace through worship, teaching at Sunday school, and quiet time with her mother, while her peers—including newcomers Jane and Ellen Saunders—prefer pleasure and amusement. When rain cancels the sisters’ planned outing, Mary invites them to her home, and Jane accepts, drawn in by the kindness and gentle wisdom of Mrs. Davis. Through conversations about temptation, religion, and the true principles behind virtuous living, the narrative sets up Jane’s growing curiosity about faith and moral conduct, contrasted by Ellen’s resistance and the lure of worldly pleasures. Death, sudden illness, and everyday pressures sharpen these moral discussions, as Jane finds comfort and guidance in Mrs. Davis’s home, gradually gathering other young milliners to join in these Sunday gatherings, seeking spiritual understanding and support.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The Widow Davis and the young milliners: A story for young ladies
- Author credits: Guernsey, Lucy Ellen (1826–1899)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Christian life -- Fiction
- Christian literature
- Pride and vanity -- Fiction
- Sunday school literature
- Work -- Moral and ethical aspects -- Fiction
- Young women -- Conduct of life -- Fiction
Gutenberg collections
- Category: British 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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