Project Gutenberg 2002-01-01 Public domain in the USA. 99 Hardy, Thomas 1840 1928 A Group of Noble Dames The first Countess of Wessex -- Barbara, of the house of Grebe -- The Marchioness of Stonehenge -- Lady Mottisfont -- The Lady Icenway -- Squire Petrick's lady -- Anna Lady Baxby -- The Lady Penelope -- The Duchess of Hamptonshire -- The Honorable Laura. Transcribed from the 1920 Macmillan and Co. edition by David Price "A Group of Noble Dames" by Thomas Hardy is a collection of interconnected stories written during the late 19th century. The work explores the lives and experiences of several noble women in the fictional county of Wessex, reflecting on themes such as societal expectations, gender roles, and personal choice. Central to the narratives is the character of Betty, daughter of Squire Dornell, whose struggle with her arranged marriage and personal desires unravels throughout the tales. The opening of the book introduces the turbulent family dynamics at King's-Hintock Court, where young Betty becomes embroiled in a heated dispute between her parents over her betrothal. As she overhears their arguments, a picture is painted of parental ambition clashing with a child's innocence, setting the stage for Betty's subsequent attempts to assert her will while being manipulated by her mother and pressured by her father. The contrast between Betty's sheltered childhood and the adult marital decisions made on her behalf encapsulates the central conflict of the collection, foreshadowing the challenges she will ultimately face as she matures in a society that limits her autonomy. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Wessex (England) -- Fiction Nobility -- Great Britain -- Fiction Women -- England -- Fiction PR Text Browsing: Culture/Civilization/Society Browsing: Literature Browsing: Fiction 443813 443713 2024-10-02T05:56:09.198261 2023-10-02T05:42:47.816325 text/html text/html 451481 2009-03-24T18:28:53 text/html 165349 2009-03-24T18:29:20 text/html application/zip 240082 2024-10-02T05:56:17.127165 application/epub+zip 246125 2024-10-02T05:56:12.257198 application/epub+zip 228204 2024-10-02T05:56:11.015204 application/epub+zip 433711 2024-10-02T05:56:20.935141 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 409731 2024-10-02T05:56:16.398168 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 365978 2022-09-02T07:15:51.414268 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 417340 417291 2024-10-02T05:56:08.489251 2023-10-02T05:42:47.243342 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 417107 2009-03-24T18:29:20 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 160629 2009-03-24T18:29:20 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 20224 2024-10-02T05:56:21.063159 application/rdf+xml 13811 2024-10-02T05:56:11.577186 image/jpeg 3951 2024-10-02T05:56:11.288187 image/jpeg 236365 2024-10-02T05:56:09.240203 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia