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Unlike Hesba Stretton's shorter religious works for child readers, Hester Morley's promise is a full-length, adult novel. It is not a simple tale of redemption through faith, but a more complex story of murder, betrayal, and seduction. While Hester and, to a lesser extent, her father, are shown as having the Christian virtues of faith and forgiveness, Hesba Stretton contrasts them with the narrow-mindedness and lack of charity of the members of the dissenting charity, and the frivolity and superstition of the Catholic Madame Lawson.
The full text can also be read online or downloaded free of charge. It is in XHTML format, like this page. Please note the file size is 867kb and it may take some time to open-up if you choose to read it online. Downloading for reading later may be the preferred option and this can be typically achieved by calling up an option box. If you have a mouse and it is configured for left click to select, right clicking the link may give you this option. Link to the full text of Hester Morley's promise.
As well as having a much darker plot than Hesba Stretton's stories for children, Hester Morley's promise contains some intriguing and complex characters, as well as a mordant humour. Miss Waldron works tirelessly and sincerely for what she believes to be right, but she is also snobbish and self-righteous, and Hesba Stretton delights in poking gentle fun at her.
"A very eminent minister told me that, by my birth and rank, I am set as a candle upon a candlestick, and not put in a secret place, or under a bushel, that they which come in may see the light."She paused, and looked down into her satchel with a sigh, as if exhausted with shining too brilliantly.
Other strongly drawn characters--the naïve and girlish Rose, the charming but flawed Robert Waldron, and the bitter, mentally disturbed opium eater Lawson--surround the slightly priggish Hester and Carl, and make this book far more interesting and entertaining than one who only knew Hesba Stretton's books for children might have anticipated.
Page created 26 November 2002 and last
updated 17 December 2002
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