Studies in Wives

Lowndes, Marie Belloc, 1868-1947Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 348K words
Chapters: 35

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.Studies in Wives by Marie Belloc LowndesAuthor: Lowndes, Marie Belloc, 1868-1947,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Nov 20, 2012

Editor's review

This is a short story collection by Marie Belloc Lowndes, originally written in English and now published as a free eBook by Project Gutenberg. Lowndes excels at depicting the undercurrents and psychological tensions in family relationships. The book revolves around the theme of "wives" across several independent stories, using everyday marital scenes to reveal characters' suspicion, forbearance, and choices. The narration is steady in pace and densely detailed, bearing the psychological realism characteristic of late Victorian to Edwardian fiction. For readers studying British women's images, marriage attitudes, and popular fiction narrative of this period, the book offers analyzable textual samples; for general readers, it is more like a collection suited to fragmented reading before sleep or during commutes. Note that this is the original English eBook with limited layout and annotation; readers should keep a dictionary or reference tools at hand and be mindful of each story's independence and period background.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in late 19th- to early 20th-century British fiction on women and marriage
Those who enjoy psychologically realistic short stories and are used to reading English originals
Literature students studying wife figures and domestic narrative in popular fiction
English learners hoping to read independent short stories in fragmented time

Not a good fit for

General readers who only read Chinese translations and avoid English originals
Readers expecting continuous long-form plots or strong suspenseful twists
Readers impatient with Edwardian social background and old-fashioned narrative pacing

Reading tips

Read one complete story first to get familiar with Lowndes's narrative rhythm and character portrayal, then decide the reading order.
Take notes on each wife's circumstances and psychological shifts while reading, to compare how different stories are written.
Consult annotated materials for period background or cultural allusions; no need to read word by word—keep overall comprehension.
For research, compare this book with contemporary British women-themed fiction and note differences in narrative perspective.

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 in Chinese or English? Is it hard to read?

This is the original English eBook released by Project Gutenberg, with the main text in English. The language is generally early 20th-century written English, with longer sentences and older vocabulary; non-native readers may need a dictionary. The stories are short and relatively independent, so readers with intermediate or above English proficiency can try.

Are the stories connected? Do they need to be read in order?

This is a short story collection united by the theme of "wives"; characters and plots are independent, with no continuous main storyline. Readers can follow the table of contents or start with any story of interest without affecting comprehension. For thematic analysis, it is advisable to compare how each story handles marital relationships after finishing.

What should I note when using the Gutenberg eBook?

The Gutenberg edition is provided as a free electronic text, prioritizing accessibility; layout and annotation are relatively plain and generally lack modern editorial introductions. Use reading software that supports font adjustment and word lookup, and note that different versions may vary slightly in paragraphing and punctuation; when citing, check against the original page information.

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About the author

Lowndes, Marie Belloc, 1868-1947 Author

Marie Belloc Lowndes (1868–1947) was a British novelist known for psychological suspense and crime fiction. The collection includes sixteen of her works, among them The Lodger, The End of Her Honeymoon, Studies in Love and in Terror, What Timmy Did, The Uttermost Farthing, Jane Oglander and Studies in Wives. Her fiction often draws on hidden fears within ordinary domestic settings; her restrained, deliberate prose builds tension layer by layer and reveals her characters' inner suspicion and unease. The Lodger is her best-known work and has been adapted for film and television several times, leaving a mark on later suspense narrative. Public information on her early education and private life is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.