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Fair Play
Sequel is "How He Won Her."
- GenresRomance
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1868
1 person is currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
E.D.E.N. Southworth
206 books106 followersEmma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte (aka "E.D.E.N.") Southworth was an American writer of more than 60 novels in the latter part of the 19th century. She was probably the most widely read author of that era.
Some of her earliest works appeared in The National Era, the newspaper that printed Uncle Tom's Cabin. Like her friend Harriet Beecher Stowe, she was a supporter of social change and women's rights. Her first novel, Retribution, a serial for the National Era, published in book form in 1846, was so well received that she gave up teaching and became a regular contributor to various periodicals, especially the New York Ledger.
Her best known work was The Hidden Hand. Most of her novels deal with the Southern United States during the post-American Civil War era.
Some of her earliest works appeared in The National Era, the newspaper that printed Uncle Tom's Cabin. Like her friend Harriet Beecher Stowe, she was a supporter of social change and women's rights. Her first novel, Retribution, a serial for the National Era, published in book form in 1846, was so well received that she gave up teaching and became a regular contributor to various periodicals, especially the New York Ledger.
Her best known work was The Hidden Hand. Most of her novels deal with the Southern United States during the post-American Civil War era.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 19, 2016
If you suffer under the misconception that 19th century fiction is boring, this novel and its second volume, How He Won Her: A Sequel to Fair Play, should change your mind. The story follows heroine Britomarte as she strives to prove her ingenuity, independence, and intelligence (not to mention sword fighting skills) during the American Civil War. If you've ever wanted to read about a 19th century lady stealing a sword from a Confederate pirate and using it to take him down on the rolling deck of a ship, written by a lady no less, this is not a book to be missed.
(If you're more interested in Mrs. Southworth's abolitionist views, check out her novel India: the pearl of Pearl River, which is interesting in its own right.)
(If you're more interested in Mrs. Southworth's abolitionist views, check out her novel India: the pearl of Pearl River, which is interesting in its own right.)
May 8, 2025
I'm sure this story was high adventure and entertainment for the young female readers of the time, with the American Civil War as a backdrop and a source of much of the tension between characters in the story; travel, shipwreck, espionage, romance, sea battles, hints of the upcoming suffrage movement, an elopement etc. Everything, for the four young white collegiate misses discovering their paths in a time and place (particularly Washington DC and Virginia) rent asunder by the Civil War.
It's probably worth noting that Southworth, although apparently an abolitionist and northern supporter herself, drops the the big N word a few times at the beginning of the story, on behalf of one of her characters, talking about "the help". It's still odd in this day and age to see the word bandied about so casually.
Unfortunately, the story doesn't resolve itself at the end as there's a sequel in which all our questions about the four young ladies and their destinies will be answered. Although generally I avoid stories that can't manage to resolve themselves in a single book, I may pick it up at some point later to finish it all up.
It's probably worth noting that Southworth, although apparently an abolitionist and northern supporter herself, drops the the big N word a few times at the beginning of the story, on behalf of one of her characters, talking about "the help". It's still odd in this day and age to see the word bandied about so casually.
Unfortunately, the story doesn't resolve itself at the end as there's a sequel in which all our questions about the four young ladies and their destinies will be answered. Although generally I avoid stories that can't manage to resolve themselves in a single book, I may pick it up at some point later to finish it all up.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews