A Life's Morning

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A Life's Morning
Title page of the first edition of A Life's Morning.jpg
Title page of the first edition
AuthorGeorge Gissing
CountryEngland
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Smith, Elder & Co.
Publication date
1888

A Life's Morning is a novel by English author George Gissing. [1] Although written in the space of three months during 1886 it was first published, in serial form, beginning January 1888, in Cornhill Magazine [2] before being released by Smith, Elder & Co. as a novel.

George Gissing English novelist

George Robert Gissing was a British novelist who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. Gissing also worked as a teacher and tutor throughout his life. He published his first novel, Workers in the Dawn, in 1880. His best known novels, which are published in modern editions, include The Nether World (1889), New Grub Street (1891), and The Odd Women (1893).

Smith, Elder & Co. or Smith, Elder, and Co. or Smith, Elder and Co. was a British publishing company which was most noted for the works it published in the 19th century.

Contents

Plot

Originally entitled Emily, it tells the story of a poor, yet cultivated, young woman, Emily Hood, from a small town in the north of England. While serving as a governess to a wealthy country family, she becomes enamored of her employer's son, Wilfrid Athel, and the two are engaged. However, during a visit to her parents' home, she is confronted by her father's employer, Dagworthy, who threatens to expose her father as a thief unless Emily marries him. The situation is resolved when Hood Sr. commits suicide to spare his family the shame of his deeds as he had, indeed, 'stolen' ten pounds from his employer.

Governess Woman employed to teach and train children in a private household

A governess is a woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny, she concentrates on teaching children, instead of taking on a role of duty. Her charges are of school age rather than babies.

Emily rejects Wilfrid, partly out of sympathy for her father, but they meet again, many years later, and are married.

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References

  1. "Brief review: A Life's Morning". The Athenaeum (3189): 770. 8 Dec 1888.
  2. "A Life's Morning," Cornhill Magazine, Part II, Vol. X/XI, 1888.
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