Other editions of book Audrey

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Mary Johnston was born in 1870 in Buchanan, Virginia, the eldest child of Major John W. Johnston, a Confederate veteran whose family was connected with that of General Joseph E. Johnston and Elizabeth Alexander. A delicate child, educated by governesses and tutors, she lived at home until she was nineteen; browsing in her father’s library, she became an avid reader, particularly of history. She traveled in Europe and the Middle East with her widowed father and in 1893 moved to New York. During her four-year residence there she was bedridden, and in default of an active life she began to write. Her first novel, Prisoners of Hope, written to help the family financially, was little noticed; her second, To Have and to Hold, a romantic story of the Virginia Colony, sold more than half a million copies. Her third novel, Audrey, repeated this success. Although her subsequent work was less enthusiastically received, she was henceforth provided with an independent career. She never married. Upon her father’s death, she moved to Richmond and afterward to Three Hills, the house she built at Warm Springs, Virginia. There, after an operation, she died on May 9, 1936.In the United States the historical novel, largely because of its influence on major realistic writers, has earned a place of fairly high repute. In its own right, the genre has also received the approval of a large reading public and many authors have achieved commercial success. If the achievements of Mary Johnston do not now seem remarkable, the reason is that new generations have surpassed them; in the early twentieth century, they were extraordinary.Johnston will be remembered as a creator of historical verisimilitude and as a skillful narrator. Although she did not confine herself to American locales and events, she was at her best when depicting them. The Long Roll and its sequel, Cease Firing, are romances of the Civil War period. Her zeal in the cause of women’s rights prompted her two feminist novels, Hagar and The Wanderers. The heroine in Hagar is a financially successful southern writer; Hagar is widely considered her most interesting novel. Johnston’s socialist pacifism produced Foes, which was the first of a series of novels having mystical bearings, indebted in some measure to her interest in Buddhism; of these, the most noteworthy are Michael Forth and Sweet Rocket.

Audrey, by Mary Johnston, published in 1902, has taken its place with the other successful historical novels of the day. The scene is laid in Virginia in the early part of the eighteenth century, where Marmaduke Haward, a wealthy young man, rescues a little orphan girl Audrey, whose parents have been killed by the Indians, and makes her his ward. He puts her in the care of the minister Darden, and his wife Deborah, who take charge of her during Haward’s absence of ten years in England. Darden proves himself dissolute and Audrey receives but scant kindness from her guardians. Haward returns to his country estate, Fairview, and, upon finding Audrey grown into a girl of wondrous beauty, begins to take a deep interest in her. At this time he is paying his addresses to Mistress Evelyn Bird, a charming woman of wealth and position who really loves him, but hesitates about accepting his advances, fearing they may not be sincere. Hugon, a half-breed trader, whose attentions to Audrey are most distasteful to her, feels he has a rival in Haward and his plot to kill him is only prevented by the prompt action of Audrey and McLean, the store-keeper of Fairview. Haward and Audrey are much together and gossip is already rife, when the former, piqued by Evelyn’s refusal to dance with him at the Governor’s ball, in a fit of feverish bravado determines to make Audrey his partner at the Palace. In doing this he draws upon himself and upon her the anger of the guests, especially of Evelyn, and Audrey is publicly rebuked in the church the following Sunday. She is completely crushed when she realizes the position in which she has been placed by Haward and her faith in him is destroyed. He has a long illness and upon his recovery endeavors to persuade Audrey that he loves her and wishes her to become his wife, but she eludes him and repulses him on every occasion. Audrey becomes an actress and her beauty and talents bring the world to her feet. Haward is unceasing in his efforts to win back her love and has just succeeded in doing so, when the blow of the assassin Hugon, which was intended for him, is intercepted by Audrey, who sacrifices her life for his.

The valley lay like a ribbon thrown into the midst of the encompassing hills. The grass which grew there was soft and fine and abundant; the trees which sprang from its dark, rich mould were tall and great of girth. A bright stream flashed through it, and the sunshine fell warm upon the grass and changed the tassels of the maize into golden plumes. Above the valley, east and north and south, rose the hills, clad in living green, mantled with the purpling grape, wreathed morn and eve with trailing mist. To the westward were the mountains, and they dwelt apart in a blue haze. Only in the morning, if the mist were not there, the sunrise struck upon their long summits, and in the evening they stood out, high and black and fearful, against the splendid sky. The child who played beside the cabin door often watched them as the valley filled with shadows, and thought of them as a great wall between her and some land of the fairies which must needs lie beyond that barrier, beneath the splendor and the evening star. The Indians called them the Endless Mountains, and the child never doubted that they ran across the world and touched the floor of heaven.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.