A Woman's Will

Warner, Anne, 1869-1913Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 381K words
Chapters: 39

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Woman's Will by Anne WarnerAuthor: Warner, Anne, 1869-1913,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 10, 2008

Editor's review

Anne Warner was an American popular fiction writer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A Woman's Will belongs to the light domestic-fiction genre she excelled in, revolving around female will and family and courtship relationships, with the witty dialogue and misunderstanding-driven plots common in the popular fiction of the time. The language is brisk and character relationships are clear; it reads more like a light comedy of manners than a heavy social critique. Its reading value lies in showing how popular literature of that era handled the topic of "female autonomy": it affirms individual will while also retaining the compromises and reconciliations dictated by the era's limitations. As a public-domain electronic edition from Project Gutenberg, it is easy to obtain and serves as a sample for understanding late nineteenth-century American popular women's narratives. When reading, note the wit in the dialogue and subtle shifts in characters' attitudes; do not judge it harshly by modern standards, nor treat it as a feminist manifesto.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in late nineteenth-century American popular fiction and domestic themes
Literature enthusiasts who want to understand female images and courtship narratives in early popular literature
Extensive readers in English who prefer light dialogue and misunderstanding-driven plots
Readers who need public-domain English texts for projects or book-club discussion

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting profound social critique or complex psychological characterization
Readers sensitive to old-fashioned courtship views and the era's limitations
Readers who want a Chinese translation and are not used to the English original

Reading tips

First clarify the character relationships and each person's position before entering the plot, so as not to be tangled by the wit in the dialogue.
Note how "will" is concretely expressed in dialogue and action, and mark key turning-point passages.
Understand the work in the context of late nineteenth-century American popular literature rather than applying contemporary standards.
It suits chapter-by-chapter reading; after each chapter, briefly record changes in characters' attitudes and the development of misunderstandings.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a serious feminist work?

It is better not to label it that way. It is closer to the light domestic fiction popular at the time; it touches on female will and courtship choices, but its overall tone is witty and conciliatory, with clear period limitations. Readers can treat it as a sample for observing how popular literature handled women's topics.

What English level is needed to read this book?

The text consists mainly of dialogue and everyday narration, with sentences that are not overly difficult; intermediate English reading ability is enough to try it. If you are unfamiliar with late nineteenth-century expression habits, you can first read through the plot, then go back to examine the wit in the dialogue.

Is it suitable as material for book-club discussion?

Yes. The work is of moderate length, has clear character relationships, and involves discussable topics such as female will and courtship choices. It is advisable to set discussion questions around "how will is expressed" and "period limitations," avoiding single-value judgments.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Warner, Anne, 1869-1913 Author

Anne Warner (1869–1913) was an English-language writer active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, though details of her life are limited in publicly available sources. Ten of her works are held here, including novels and light story collections, commonly classified as inspirational and coming-of-age writing. Her representative titles include Susan Clegg and Her Love Affairs, Susan Clegg and Her Friend Mrs. Lathrop, Sunshine Jane, Susan Clegg and a Man in the House, Susan Clegg and Her Neighbors' Affairs, The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary, A Woman's Will, and The Tigress. These titles suggest that she favored series characters and everyday narratives, with a light, humorous tone centered on neighborly exchanges, family relationships, and personal feelings, finding warmth and a sense of growth in ordinary life. Her work, written for general readers in accessible prose with attention to dialogue and domestic detail, retains a readable period flavor. Given the limited public record, a full account of her life and oeuvre remains to be established.