A Knight of the Nineteenth Century

by Edward Payson Roe

But while his action did suggest hope, it also contained elements of discouragement. She did not find fault with what he proposed to do, but with the spirit in which he was entering on his most difficult task. His knowledge of the world was so crude and partial that he did not at all realize the herculean labor that he now became eager to attempt; and he was bent on accomplishing everything in a way that would minister to his own pride, and proposed to be under obligations to no one.

476 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1877

About the author

Reverend Edward Payson Roe (1838-1888) was an American novelist born in Moodna, Orange County, New York. He studied at Williams College and at Auburn Theological Seminary. In 1862 he became chaplain of the Second New York Cavalry, U.S. V., and in 1864 chaplain of Hampton Hospital, in Virginia. In 1866-74 he was pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Highland Falls, New York. In 1874 he moved to Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, where he devoted himself to the writing of fiction and to horticulture. During the American Civil War he wrote weekly letters to the New York Evangelist, and subsequently lectured on the war and wrote for periodicals. Amongst his works are Barriers Burned Away (1872), What Can She Do? (1873), Opening a Chestnut Burr (1874), Near to Nature's Heart (1876), A Face Illumined (1878), Success with Small Fruits (1880), A Day of Fate (1880), Without a Home (1881), An Unexpected Result (1883), His Sombre Rivals (1884), A Young Girl's Wooing (1884), An Original Belle (1885), He Fell in Love with His Wife (1886), Driven Back to Eden (1886) and The Earth Trembled (1887).

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful tale of redemption and romance with some pretty incredible doses of theology slipped in. Wonderful characters and an inspiring story.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

i do not think this author can write anything but good

[Carol Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am thrilled to find someone else who has read this book. I own a copy copyright 1877. I encountered it in a rented cabin in Sweden, ME, in 1991. My family was asleep, children age 3 and 18 months, and I was not. Often these kinds of family places have a shelf of books collected over the years, and this one did too. I was intrigued by this title, as it sounded like something Louisa May Alcott would write.

I was captivated. Two characters encounter each other: a matron whose husband is distracted with work and a young man suffering from consequences of many foolish decisions. I remember the book as a conversation between these two, as he learns that he actually wants to do things that make him part of the society he criticizes, and she finds occupation in mentoring him.

A very timeless and timely story. I have been in the shoes of both characters, as in, mentor and mentee. It's a divine process, that kind of conversation. Both leave better for it.

I left the book at the cabin, but years later a friend gifted me a copy of my own. I am so very glad she did. Goodreads did not exist in 2012, but today I can learn about the author, find readers who liked it too, and more titles.

[Naomi McCullough · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first of E.P Roe that I read.

Similar themes to a Louisa May Alcott book abound in here. A rich young boy is frittering away his life, thinking he has but to snap his fingers and he will always have it all. But when his mother puts her foot down, the girl he is determined to make fall in love with him turns him down emphatically, and he runs into trouble, he is forced to set and look over his path. The challenge to be a "knight of the nineteenth century" is the beginning of the change.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book, and re-read it every couple of years. It's a marvellous example of what my family calls "protestant work-ethic fiction" with nearly all the tropes, and the lickety-split ending makes me chuckle.

[David Hensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An endearing plot with a moral fit for any time period: Once a reputation is trashed, it is very difficult to restore.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

good but too much religion as is normal for this author