
Ruth Hall
by Fanny Fern
'Ruth Hall ' Summary
In the first chapter, young Ruth Ellet sits at her window on the night before her wedding, reflecting on her life so far. When her mother died long ago, she was sent away to boarding school, where she excelled at writing compositions. There is no love lost between Ruth and her father, who has plenty of money but begrudges her every penny; and although she adores her talented older brother, Hyacinth, he is a strange, cold-hearted man who slights his sister for her overtures of affection. Ruth, therefore, pins all her hopes on her impending marriage to Harry Hall.
Ruth, left with very little money, applies to her relatives for help. The elder Halls and Ruth's father grudgingly provide her with a tiny income. She moves into a boarding house in a slum district, just up the road from a brothel, and searches unsuccessfully for employment as a schoolteacher or a seamstress. Her rich friends drop her, her relatives snub her, and only rarely does anyone offer help or encouragement. When Katy falls ill, Mrs. Hall persuades her to give up Katy to them and then treats the little girl harshly. Meanwhile, Ruth's funds continue to diminish, forcing her to move into a barren garret and live on bread and milk.
Ruth, nearly desperate, hits on the idea of writing for the newspapers. She composes several samples and sends them to her brother Hyacinth, who is an influential publisher. He sends the samples back, along with an insolent note telling her she has no talent.
Ruth perseveres, adopting the pen name 'Floy', and finally finds an editor, Mr. Lascom, who is willing to purchase her writings. Her columns are a hit; soon, she is publishing several pieces a week for Mr. Lascom and for another editor, Mr. Tibbetts. Subscription lists burgeon and fan mail comes pouring in, but Ruth is still barely getting by because neither editor will give her more money for her contributions. Accordingly, when a publisher named Mr. Walter offers her twice her present rate of pay to work exclusively for his magazine, she accepts.
Mr. Walter becomes her best friend and advocate. Since she now has to write only one piece per week, Ruth has time to compile a book-length selection of her columns. This becomes a best-seller, making Ruth not only independent, but wealthy. She ransoms Katy and moves into a comfortable hotel with both her daughters. In the last scene, she visits her husband's grave and looks sadly at the space reserved for her at his side, then leaves the cemetery, thinking of the good things life might still have in store.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1854Genre/Category
Tags/Keywords
Authors

Fanny Fern
United States
Fanny Fern, was an American novelist, children's writer, humorist, and newspaper columnist in the 1850s to 1870s. Her popularity has been attributed to a conversational style and sense of what mattere...
Books by Fanny FernListen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books

Charles Dickens' Children Stories - Retold by His Grandaughter by Charles Dickens
This collection of children's stories, retold by Charles Dickens' granddaughter, captures the humor and pathos of the original tales. The stories focu...

The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume 3: The Viaticum and Other Stories by Guy de Maupassant
Explore the dark and twisted world of Guy de Maupassant, one of the greatest masters of the short story. The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume 3: Th...

The House of the Whispering Pines by Anna Katharine Green
The country club house The Whispering Pines was closed for the winter, but only one day after he locked the place personally, the narrator sees smoke...

The Newcomes by William Makepeace Thackeray
It is a satirical portrayal of the upper-class society in 19th century England, following the lives and experiences of the Newcome family. The main ch...

Heidi, une histoire pour les enfants et pour ceux qui les aiment by Johanna Spyri
Heidi, une jeune orpheline, est envoyée vivre avec son grand-père, un homme solitaire vivant dans les montagnes suisses. Elle s'épanouit dans cet envi...

Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Edith Nesbit’s classic story, in which three children, pulled suddenly from their comfortable suburban life, move to the country with their mother, wh...

It's Your Fairy Tale, You Know by Elizabeth Rhodes Jackson
Do you want to live your own fairy tale? In her book It's Your Fairy Tale, You Know, Elizabeth Rhodes Jackson encourages readers to embrace their own...

Wessex Tales by Thomas Hardy
Hardy writes of the true nature of nineteenth-century marriage and its inherent restrictions, the use of grammar as a diluted form of thought, the dis...

Circular Study by Anna Katharine Green
In this classic detective novel, Detective Gryce is summoned to a seemingly ordinary brownstone where he finds a man brutally murdered, yet carefully...

A Thin Ghost And Others by M.R. James
Venture into the realm of the uncanny and the macabre with Montague Rhodes James's chilling collection of ghost stories, "A Thin Ghost and Others." Pr...
Reviews for Ruth Hall
No reviews posted or approved, yet...