Edward Burton

Description

"A true relation of the travels and perilous adventures of Mathew Dudgeon,…." is a novel written in the late 19th century. Its opening presents a socially and spiritually oriented tale that moves from fashionable Bar Harbor to New England schoolrooms and seminaries, balancing society scenes and lively debates with an inner quest for faith and healing. Central figures include the principled Edward Burton, the wealthy Bonbright family, the skeptical medical student Junius Van Roden, and the keen-minded Miss Jenness. The opening of the story sets a languid canoe scene on Frenchman’s Bay, where Van Roden and Adelbert Bonbright banter about marriage and society before a dinner at the Bonbright cottage. There, amid descriptions of the family and guests, talk turns sharp: Miss Jenness challenges Van Roden’s materialism, and a broader parlor debate runs through evolution, woman suffrage, church authority, and the reach of legislation. The narrative then shifts back twelve years to a New Hampshire village, tracing Edward Burton’s upbringing by a devout mother who steers him toward the ministry, his diligent academy and college years (shown in affectionate letters home), and his choice of a conservative seminary over Andover after pastoral counsel. Overwork brings a collapse, hospital suffering, and despair, until his friend William Tapley visits; through quiet presence and inward, prayerful practice, Edward’s diary records a gradual release from opiates, renewed sleep, returning strength, and a fresh, inwardly grounded view of health and faith that sets up the path ahead. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Subjects

• American fiction -- 19th century
• United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
• Bar Harbor (Me.) -- Fiction
• PS