Mrs. Mary J. Holmes
Maggie Miller or Old Hagar's Secret
Madam Conway's only daughter, Mrs. Miller, lay near death after giving birth to a baby girl. The infant was rushed out of the room and given to the care of the servant, Hagar. Days later, the noble family scarcely cared that Hagar also became a grandmother. Her own daughter did not receive a doctor's care, and she quickly died. Hagar was left to take care of both baby girls and wondered if hers would grow up to be a servant or a lady. Hagar switched the babies clothes and beds, just to to see how her granddaughter would look. But Hagar didn't have time to undo the change, as Madam Conway ran in to retrieve what she thought was her daughter's baby for the new mother to see since she was awake.
The deed was done, and only Hagar knew that her grandbaby was being baptized and christened Margaret Miller, and that the noble one was now named Hester Hamilton and given to the servant. It all seemed even more selfish later, when Mrs. Miller and Hester both died of poor health, and Hagar's grandchild was the picture of health being raised in wealth and nobility.
Author Mrs. Mary Jane Holmes wrote 39 novels. Although her goal was to write pure stories that mothers and daughters could share, she gave us much more. Her characters were part of the struggles that encompassed 19th-century social politics. Both her major and minor characters are positive ones who form, renew, and strengthen bonds with one another, and the female characters learn to negotiate the limited power given her by a patriarchal society divided by race, class, and gender. Her heroines gain independence and freedom and improve their own conditions and that of others. With her own life stretching through slavery, the Civil War, and the building of this country, Mary Jane's writing includes the actual fears, prejudices, injustices, hopes, and dreams of a new nation struggling with the concepts of equality and democracy.
- Pages
- 298
- Weight
- 22.08 oz.
Enjoy reading Maggie Miller or Old Hagar's Secret? You may also like these books
-
Mary J. Holmes
Meadow brook . By: Mary J. Holmes
(CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Aug. 6, 2017) -
Mary J. Holmes
Edna Browning; Or the Leighton Homestead.NOVEL
Paperback (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform March 8, 2016) -
Mary J. Holmes
Darkness and Daylight
Paperback (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform May 13, 2016)
