The Charles Dudley Warner Library

The Charles Dudley Warner Library

By Charles Dudley WarnerFiction
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The Charles Dudley Warner Library episodes

  • The Gilded Age Chapter 10
    In which a young lady named Laura discovers a long-hidden mystery about her birth, stirring the idle tongues and curious eyes of a close-knit village into a chorus of gossip and speculation that chills her spirits yet piques a romantic yearning within her heart. Despite the shadows cast by whispers and a lover's retreat, she finds solace and steadfast affection in the embrace of the mother who has raised her, and in her own fierce resolve to stand unbowed against the world's judgements.
    17 min
  • The Gilded Age Chapter 9
    In which a young lad named Washington finds his heart captured by a fair maiden, stirring a longing for fortune alongside the pangs of love, while the shadows deepen at home where his ailing father lies wrapped in solemn vigil. The solemnity of a winter night clasps the household as they gather round, listening to the fading strength of a humble man whose thoughts linger on hopes and land yet unseen.
    13 min
  • The Gilded Age Chapter 8
    In which a young man named Washington finds himself dazzled and swept away by Colonel Sellers’s extravagant visions of wealth and grand enterprise, spun from humble fare and thin air. Yet amid these soaring schemes and promises, he is grounded at last into the quiet reality of clerking in a real estate office, where dignity and reserve mark the path ahead.
    19 min
  • The Gilded Age Chapter 7
    In which young Washington Hawkins journeys to the sprawling heart of Missouri, where he is greeted by Colonel Sellers and his lively, if somewhat impoverished, family in a modest mansion warmed more by affection than by fire. Through the Colonel’s cheerful, though fanciful, talk of grand schemes and a peculiar stove lit by candlelight, a portrait is painted of earnest hopes amid hard times and gentle domestic warmth.
    16 min
  • The Gilded Age Chapter 6
    In which the ten years following many ups and downs see Judge Hawkins and his sprawling household grappling with dwindling fortunes and the prospect of parting with cherished land, whilst the younger generation faces the dawning reality of self-reliance under the weight of family honour. The tale tenderly uncovers the strains of poverty, pride, and hope that ripple through home and heart alike, setting the stage with a mix of gentle resilience and quiet apprehension.
    23 min
  • The Gilded Age Chapter 5
    In which a family, newly acquainted with hardship and kindness, ventures inland to settle among rustic folk and cultivate a promising speculation in mules, all while cherishing the hope bound up in a stretch of Tennessee land and the bright futures of their children. Their humble log cabin and the nascent village swell with both the sounds of simple rural life and the quiet stirrings of ambition, beneath the watchful eye of a lightning rod and the hopeful gaze of those who still love their country as if it were their very soul.
    18 min
  • The Gilded Age Chapter 4
    In which a steamboat voyage up the Mississippi becomes an unfolding panorama of riverine nature and the spirited challenge of navigation, as pilots engage in a tense and dangerous race through the twilight and night. Amid the grandeur and adventure lie stark reminders of human frailty and misfortune, culminating in a tragic collision and a solemn inquest that leaves culpability as elusive as the flowing river itself.
    22 min
  • The Gilded Age Chapter 3
    In which a motley band of children and their guardian camp by the mighty Mississippi, enchanted and somewhat awed by the river’s vast, mysterious presence as night falls. Their quiet reverie is broken by the fiery approach of a steamboat, provoking a heartfelt and solemn prayer from Uncle Dan’l, who beseeches mercy in the face of the imposing, thunderous visitor.
    10 min
  • The Gilded Age Chapter 2
    In which a weary traveller chance upon a humble cabin where a sorrowful child mourns the loss of his mother, and neighbourly kindness leads to the offering of a new home and comfort for the orphaned boy. Together, they honour the past with tender rituals and face the future united, their hearts quietly mended by shared compassion and hope.
    8 min
  • The Gilded Age Chapter 1
    In which the worn but hopeful Squire Hawkins contemplates the dreariness of his mountain home and decides to seek a better life by moving his family to the far-off and promising lands of Missouri, buoyed by the persuasive and unyielding excitement of an old acquaintance’s letter. The rural folk of Obedstown linger in tobacco-dryled gossip while Hawkins and his wife resolve to leave behind a place of slow decay, chasing the distant dreams of railroads, steamboats, and hidden fortunes beneath unimpressive soil.
    21 min

About The Charles Dudley Warner Library

From the publisher's feed

There is a peculiar pleasure in keeping company with a thoughtful writer, especially one who never hurries his reader nor mistakes noise for wisdom. Charles Dudley Warner possessed that rare gift.…