Maggie Lee! : $b Bad spelling, Diamonds, The answered prayer

"Maggie Lee! : Bad Spelling, Diamonds, The Answered Prayer" by Mary Jane Holmes is a novel written in the late 19th century. The book consists of three interconnected tales that reflect themes of love, ambition, and social class, exploring the lives of characters navigating personal conflicts and societal expectations. The narrative focuses on the complexities of relationships and the tensions arising from love, ambition, and deception. In the first story, “Bad Spelling,” we encounter the ambitious Arabella Greenleaf who steals a prize composition from her cousin, Mildred Graham, leading to her public disgrace. The second tale, “Diamonds,” features Cora Blanchard, a girl who finds herself torn between her desire for love and her fixation on wealth, ultimately marrying for money rather than affection. The final story, “The Answered Prayer,” delves into the struggles of two mothers, Lina Hastings and Mabel Parkham, whose lives take divergent paths due to their relationships and circumstances. As tragedy strikes, their experiences underscore the consequences of choices made for either love or material gain. This novel captures the social dynamics of its time, focusing on how personal aspirations can clash with familial and societal pressures. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Mary Jane Holmes was an American author who published 39 novels, as well as short stories. Her first novel sold 250,000 copies; and she had total sales of 2 million books in her lifetime, second only to Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her books included: "Tempest and Sunshine" (1854), "English Orphans" (1855), "Homestead on the Hillside" (1855), "Lena Rivers" (1856), "Meadow Brook" (1857), "Dora Deane" (1858), "Cousin Maude" (1860), "Marian Gray" 186^, "Hugh Worthington" (1864), "Cameron Vide" (1867). "Rose Mather" (1868), "Ethelyn’s Mistake" (1869), "Edna Browning" (1872), "Mildred" (1877), "Forest House" (1879), "Daisy Thornton," "Queenie Hetherton" (1883), "Christmas Stories" (1884), "Bessie's Fortune" (1885). "Gretchen" (1887), "Marguerite" (1891).