Forty-Eight Hours by Michael Wood
Dexter, a quiet secretary burdened by a past financial offence, works for a celebrated public man who praises himself for having given Dexter a “fresh start” while still repeating the old disgrace to others. A wealthy, respectable guest notices Dexter’s vulnerability and secretly offers him a chance to manage a dubious financial scheme. The guest will remain concealed while Dexter assumes the public risk; if the scheme succeeds, Dexter may keep enough money to begin anew in America, but if it fails he will bear the ruin alone. Exhausted by years of drudgery and humiliation, Dexter asks for forty-eight hours to consider the proposal. He takes food and walks to the forest, intending to live alone beneath the open sky. At first he assumes he will accept the offer, but he becomes absorbed in the woods: dawn over heath and sea, birdsong, rabbits, cattle, rain, pine avenues, streams, flowers, foxes, owls, moonlight, storms, and the vast stillness of the natural world. He does not consciously reason about his decision. Instead, the forest’s beauty, order, silence, and patient life gradually release him from his fatigue and inward oppression. After two days and nights outdoors, Dexter returns to his employer’s house and resumes his ordinary work. When the guest expects his agreement, Dexter refuses the scheme. He denies that fear or moral scruples have determined him. He can give no full explanation, except that he has Sundays free in his present position and believes he would miss the forest if he went away.
By Michael Wood · First published 2015 · Genre: Literary Fiction, Nature Writing, Spiritual Fiction · 4,599 words
First lines
We are in Thee who art strength: / Give us Thy strength! / We are in Thee who art love: / Give us Thy love! / We are in Thee who art power: / Give us Thy power! / We are in Thee who art peace: / Give, Lord, Thy peace! / We are in Thee who dost wait: / Teach us to wait! / _Litany of the Wood._
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Genres
- Literary Fiction — The work prioritizes lyrical prose, psychological nuance, symbolism, and reflective moral development over plot-driven action.
- Nature Writing — Extended, sensuous depictions of forest, heath, weather, wildlife, dawn, dusk, and night make the natural world the work's central transformative force.
- Spiritual Fiction — The litany, Christian imagery, reverent treatment of creation, and the protagonist's movement toward inner peace give the narrative a strongly spiritual character.
- Philosophical Fiction — The story explores conscience, freedom, patience, moral identity, alienation, and the relationship between human life and a larger order of being.
Tags
nature writing · forest retreat · Edwardian England · late spring · moral choice · financial fraud · class hypocrisy · public reputation · shame and social stigma · second chances · workplace exploitation · solitude
What this Textopian page supports
Forty-Eight Hours is listed on Textopian as a short story by Michael Wood, dated 2015 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Michael Wood
- Date: 2015 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Literary Fiction, Nature Writing, Spiritual Fiction, Philosophical Fiction, Psychological Fiction
- Length: 4,599 words
- Structure: 1 section, 89 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Forty-Eight Hours by Michael Wood
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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