The Cold Snap by Edward Bellamy
The novel follows the story of a young man, John, who is sent to a small town in the Midwest to help his uncle, a doctor, with his medical practice. John soon discovers that the town is in the grip of a severe cold snap, and the people are struggling to survive. He meets a variety of characters, including a young woman, Mary, who is struggling to make ends meet. John and Mary soon become close, and John helps her to find a job and a place to live. As the cold snap continues, John and Mary's relationship deepens, and they eventually fall in love. However, the cold snap is not the only problem the town is facing. There is also a mysterious illness that is affecting the townspeople, and John and Mary must work together to find a cure. The Cold Snap is a story of love, courage, and resilience in the face of adversity. It is a timeless classic that will stay with readers long after they have finished the book.
By Edward Bellamy · First published 1898 · Genre: Realistic Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction · 4,196 words
First lines
In the extremes of winter and summer, when the weather is either extraordinarily cold or hot, I confess to experiencing a peculiar sense of helplessness and vague uneasiness. I have a feeling that a trifling additional rise or fall of temperature, such as might be caused by any slight hitch in the machinery of the universe, would quite crowd mankind out of existence. To be sure, the hitch never has occurred, but what if it should? Conscious that I have about reached the limit of my own endurance, the thought of the bare contingency is unpleasant enough to cause a feeling of relief, not altogether physical, when the rising or falling mercury begins to turn. The consciousness how wholly by sufferance it is that man exists at all on the earth is rather forcibly borne in upon the mind at such times. The spaces above and below zero are indefinite.
What this Textopian page supports
The Cold Snap is listed on Textopian as a short story by Edward Bellamy, dated 1898 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Edward Bellamy
- Date: 1898 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Realistic Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Drama, Mystery
- Length: 4,196 words
- Structure: 1 section, 28 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Cold Snap by Edward Bellamy
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering The Cold Snap?
- How does this short story by Edward Bellamy fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
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Genres
- Realistic Fiction — The Cold Snap is a realistic fiction novel that follows the lives of two characters, John and Mary, as they navigate the challenges of life in a small town in the late 19th century.
- Romance — The Cold Snap follows the romantic relationship between John and Mary, and explores the themes of love, loss, and redemption.
- Historical Fiction — The Cold Snap is set in the late 19th century and provides a detailed look at the social and political issues of the time period.
- Drama — The Cold Snap is a dramatic novel that follows the lives of two characters as they struggle to overcome the obstacles of life in a small town.
Tags
19th century · Fiction · Short stories · Social life and customs · United States · bed · bill · cold · could · day · ella · evening