A Bankrupt Heart, Volume II

A Bankrupt Heart, Volume II by Florence Marryat

The narrative continues to explore the complex emotional and social dynamics surrounding Nell Llewellyn, who is recovering from a severe illness and grappling with the consequences of her past. Nell's return to her family home at Panty-cuckoo Farm is marked by a struggle to reconcile her past actions with her present circumstances. Her relationship with Hugh Owen, a young minister who has cared for her during her illness, becomes central to her journey. Despite her past, Hugh proposes a future together, offering her a chance at redemption and a new life away from the memories that haunt her. Meanwhile, the story also follows the lives of Lord and Lady Ilfracombe, who are navigating their own challenges within their marriage and social circles. Nora, the Countess of Ilfracombe, is portrayed as a woman of the world, grappling with the complexities of her past and the societal expectations of her present. Her interactions with Jack Portland, a man from her past who holds compromising letters, add tension to her life as she tries to maintain her marriage and social standing. The narrative intertwines the lives of these characters, exploring themes of love, betrayal, redemption, and the societal pressures of the time. The characters' paths cross in unexpected ways, leading to moments of introspection and decisions that will shape their futures. The story delves into the emotional turmoil of its characters, highlighting their struggles with identity, morality, and the pursuit of happiness amidst societal constraints.

By Florence Marryat · First published 1877 · Genre: Victorian Drama, Social Criticism, Romance · 10 chapters · 48,873 words

First lines

For seven weeks Nell Llewellyn fluctuated between life and death before she was fully roused again to a sense of living and its cares and responsibilities. It was on a sunny afternoon, in the middle of October, that she first awoke to the consciousness that she was herself. But she was too weak to do more than be aware of it. The afternoon sun was glinting through the white blind of her bedroom window, and a little breeze caused it to flap gently against the latticed panes. Nell lay on her bed, as weak and unreasoning and incurious as a little child, and watched the tassel of the blind bobbing up and down, without questioning why she lay there, unable to move or think. An old woman named Betsy Hobbs, who came in sometimes to help in an emergency at the farmhouse, was seated by the window, with a large pair of knitting-needles in her hands, a ball of worsted at her feet, and her head sunk on her breast, enjoying a snooze after the labours of the day. Nell stared at her unfamiliar figure with the same sense of incapacity to understand her presence, and the same sense of utter indifference to not understanding it. Her feeble sight roved over everything in the room with the same apathy. The coverlet on her bed was a coloured one, and she kept on counting the squares and wondering in a vague manner why one should be red and the next blue.

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A Bankrupt Heart, Volume II is listed on Textopian as a novella by Florence Marryat, dated 1877 CE.

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Genres

Tags

Victorian · romance · drama · novel · sentimental · tragedy · financial crisis · emotional conflict · betrayal · redemption · social critique · class struggle

Contents

More by Florence Marryat