Plot summary
The story opens in the Zillertal valley in the Austrian Tyrol. Two English tourists, Will Deverill and Florian Wood, arrive in a small mountain village. Deverill is a quiet, undemonstrative poet, while Wood is a cynical, worldly critic. They encounter the local "Tyrolese," described as leading a life of "native simplicity." Among the villagers is Linnet (born Carolina), a modest young woman who tends cows in the summer and works in the village during the winter. She possesses an extraordinary singing voice and is a devout Catholic. [2]
Both Englishmen are charmed by Linnet. Wood pays her meaningless compliments, but Deverill falls genuinely in love with her. However, Wood persuades Deverill of the social and practical folly of a romance with a peasant girl, and convinces him to leave the Tyrol.
After the Englishmen depart, Linnet attracts the attention of Andreas Hausberger, a taciturn local innkeeper and zither player who manages minstrel troupes. Viewing Linnet as a business investment, Hausberger marries her—despite her lack of romantic affection for him—to secure control over her talent. He trains her and takes her on tour as a professional singer. [2]
Linnet achieves great fame, and eventually, the troupe travels to London. There, the contrast between her simple Tyrolean origins and the complex London society is thrown into sharp relief. She encounters Deverill again, who has since become a successful playwright. Their love is rekindled, but they are kept apart by Linnet's marriage and her strict religious adherence to the sanctity of the union, despite her husband's greed and cruelty. [1]
The novel's resolution involves high melodrama. A former admirer of Linnet from her native village, Franz Lindner (known as "The Robbler"), who has also followed her path, intervenes. In a confrontation, Lindner murders Hausberger, freeing Linnet from her oppressive marriage. After a period of mourning and the acquisition of a Papal dispensation, Linnet and Deverill are finally free to marry. [1]
Themes
Like many of Grant Allen's works, Linnet explores the tension between natural impulses and social conventions. The novel serves as a travelogue, offering detailed descriptions of Tyrolean scenery and customs.
The book also reflects Allen's rationalist and critical views on religion. Through the plot device of Linnet's unhappy marriage, Allen critiques the Catholic Church's stance on the indissolubility of marriage, portraying it as a source of unnecessary suffering for the heroine. This thematic element aligns with Allen's controversial reputation as a writer who frequently challenged Victorian social mores (most notably in The Woman Who Did ). [3]
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