My brother's friend by Eglanton Thorne
"My brother's friend" by Eglanton Thorne is a novel written in the late 19th century. It appears to be a domestic coming‑of‑age and family drama centered on Dorothy Carmichael, her poised sister Mabel, their cherished brother Edmund, and the charismatic industrialist Howard Steinthorpe, with hints of romance involving Edmund’s friend Ralph Dugdale. Set in and around the rural Essex town of Burford, it explores sisterhood, social ambition, business pressures, and the uneasy
crossing of class and character. The opening of the novel follows Dorothy and Mabel home from school, immediately contrasting Dorothy’s impulsive, untidy warmth with Mabel’s polished self-possession. At Old Burford we meet their gentle, careworn father (a tanner), the loyal former nurse Salome, and the new neighbor Howard Steinthorpe of the ostentatious Towers—admired by Mabel, distrusted by Dorothy. Domestic scenes sketch Dorothy’s school underperformance, Edmund’s charm shadowed by a worrying cough, and the father’s veiled financial anxieties as Howard becomes a constant presence at the office. Returning from her final term, Dorothy shocks the household with cropped hair, discovers Mabel has dismissed Salome, and, to her dismay, learns of Mabel’s engagement to Howard; a rainy wedding follows, during which Dorothy also meets the warm, steady Ralph Dugdale, who reassures her about Edmund. After Mabel settles grandly at the Towers, Howard’s visits to the tannery intensify, household economies begin, and Dorothy’s careless housekeeping contrasts with rising worry—until her father collapses in the office and the local doctor warns of strain and overwork, while Mabel downplays the danger as the excerpt closes. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Thorne, Eglanton, 1852-1907 |
|---|---|
| Title | My brother's friend |
| Original Publication | London: The Leisure Hour Office, 1886. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres |
| Subject | Christian life -- Juvenile fiction |
| Subject | Young women -- England -- Juvenile fiction |
| Subject | Marriage -- Juvenile fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 77999 |
| Release Date | Feb 21, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 219 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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