The English Orphans

by Mary Jane Holmes

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Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Classics, Novels

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1855

About the author

Mary Jane Holmes (a.k.a. Mary J. Holmes) was a bestselling and prolific American author who wrote 39 popular 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.

Mary Jane Holmes, nee Hawes (1825-1907) was an American author who wrote many popular novels. Holmes was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts. At age 13 she taught in a school. She married Daniel Holmes and they settled in Versailles, Kentucky. In 1854 she wrote her first novel, Tempest and Sunshine. The theme for most of her novels was domestic life. Other works include: The English Orphans; or, A Home in the New World (1855), 'Lena Rivers (1856), Homestead on the Hillside (1856), Meadow Brook (1857), Dora Deane; or, The East India Uncle (1859), Cousin Maude (1860), Rosamond Maude (1860), Darkness and Daylight (1864), Hugh Worthington (1865), Family Pride; or, Purified by Suffering (1867), Ethelyn's Mistake (1869), Edna Browning; or, The Leighton Homestead (1872), West Lawn (1874), Edith Lyle's Secret (1876), Forrest House (1879), Christmas Stories (1885), Bessie's Fortune (1885), Tracy Park (1886), Gretchen (1887), Paul Ralston (1897), The Cromptons (1899) and Bad Hugh (1900).

Portraying domestic life in small town and rural settings, she examined gender relationships, as well as those of class and race. She also dealt with slavery and the American Civil War, with a strong sense of moral justice. Her popular work was excluded from most 19th-century literary histories, but she has received recognition and reappraisal since the late 20th century.

Reviews

[Whitney Atkinson]

when i visited in may, my grandma gave me a decrepit, old copy of this book from 1925. the pages are literally falling out and i honestly went to throw the book away, but when i opened it to see what it was (thinking maybe it was an old bible or boring non-fiction), i was shocked to see it was fiction! i read the first chapter and though it contains a kiss between a 14 and 9 year old, i love the idea of giving it a read some day since my grandma was so kind to gift it to me.

[Nicole C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting what the age of digital books has done for literature. Prior to this, I had never heard of Mary Jane Holmes, even though she was a very prolific author and was, apparently, as popular as Harriet Beecher Stowe in her day. In one of my other Kindle books, there was a back page advertising a collection called Burt's Home Library, and many of her books were listed. I believe this is the first one I have read of hers so far, but it won't be the last. I like her writing style. It is similar fare to other nineteenth century romance works, and domestic fiction, but I still like them.

This story revolves around Mary, who becomes an orphan after her mother, who removed her and her siblings to Boston after their father died in England, dies after a protracted illness. Her brother, who has been working himself to death to support them, dies the very same night. Her sister, Ella, is beautiful and blonde, and a rich woman decides she looks so much like her recently-deceased daughter, that she decides to adopt her. Mary, who looks nothing like her sister, is destined for the poor-house, along with her younger sister, Alice, who is sickly.

Of all of the characters in the book, Mary is my least favorite. She is a mouse, really, and never stands up for herself. There are some memorable characters here; my favorite is Sal Furbush, who is supposedly insane, but at times, is the most level-headed personage there is. Jenny, who befriends Mary even though she is a rich girl and Mary is a pauper, is also good; she really has no qualms about venting her opinion, despite what her mother might say about it.

On the whole, even though one could boil the story down to the "rich girl, poor girl" scenario, in the end, everything works out how it should, and the way it is told makes up for the trope.

[Effie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The poor heroine went through more pain and torture than I could stand before finally getting her happy ending. I can only wonder at the minds of novelists during the mid-1800's. Long-suffering heroines seem to have been in vogue back then.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard for us, in the 21st century, to connect with those who lived in the 19th century. So much of their lives were completely different. This book gave a glimpse into the society lives of people of those times, where wealth, or lack of it, entirely determined one's fate and standing in society. We are shown how circumstances immediately changed from prosperity to the poorhouse and back again as the lives of the characters in this book changed over the years. By the end, all the loose ends have been tucked in, and the characters go on with their lives, save for the requisite number who died. I can imagine that this story would have appealed to the 19th century audience, although for me it was an effort to get through it.

It was a free download, as I'm grateful for that, but it isn't my style of pleasure reading.

[Marine Captain Kimberly Landen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler -Thought it was interesting about 3 preteen English Orphans that come to a new home in America and grow up either to die ,or get married. One would have to read to see which one of the three preteens dies, or the 2 that become married.. It is free to read on amazon Kindle now...https://www.amazon.com/English-Orphan...

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Students and alums of Mt. Holyoke, take note - the school features prominently in this delightfully melodramatic novel.

[Jennifer Booth · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was dry

I thought it would be exciting with a young woman's was of coming to another country. It was more a long breath of dullness

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave it 3 stars for nostalgia’s sake. I read this for the first time when I was 9 or 10 and loved it. It was one of my treasures from my grandmother’s attic. Back then, I sobbed for Mary and got angry on her behalf, and rejoiced when she got her happy ending. Written in 1855, it’s very old-fashioned and melodramatic, but reflects the era of popular fiction of its time. Reading it now was a trip to my past, and despite the melodrama, it held up well.

[Betsy Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though somewhat predictable, I found I was still interested and it was a great gentle read before bed. This time period with all the social stratifications was interesting. Four stars just because it was a good rep of the writing of the era.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting middle section

Describing studying at Mt. Holyoke during Mary Lyons' years. the beginning takes place in Chicopee and the end in Boston.

[Karla Renee Goforth Abreu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet tale of rising from the ashes of utterly destitute circumstances and becoming stronger and refined due to it. The characters are memorable and depicted clearly as likeable or abhorrent. One of my favorites is Sal Fulbrush, who teeters from insanity to wisdom and sensibility.
The author (1825-1907) portrays the socio-economic prejudice of the time, at least for the area, Boston and the countryside. The attitudes concerning social class are heavily influenced by British culture. The novel is not a commentary on this, as it is lighter fare, entertaining. The characters experience pain and joy. The reader gets a sense of how life was in the mid 1800's on America's east coast. The very wealthy and horribly poor are meshed together in the story.
The story flows and it is written nicely. Sometimes the reader is addressed which adds to the appeal.
Mary Jane Holmes wrote 39 books and over 2 million copies were sold during her lifetime. This is the first one I have read and I much enjoyed it.

[Marjorie Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful find in the new world of free digital downloads! Ms. Holmes was a "bestselling and prolific American author who wrote 39 popular 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." [Wikipedia] The English Orphans develops a series of mostly female characters, set in a rural Massachusetts area shared by locals and the empoverished with wealthier Bostonians escaping from the city for holidays. While the 19th century social barriers no longer operate so rigidly and cruelly, the range of female character remains strangely familiar and the reward of humility, generosity and love as compelling. I found the male characters contrived, more like pillars to hold up the story than serious characters, but that may, in part, be attributable to the age of the material. Like Jane Austen's works, the English Orphan offers a wonderful tale of female lives and intrigue. I have already downloaded more works by Ms. Holmes.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, my, this is a very old book free from Kindle. It might be a spoiler to say that people drop left and right like flies, but then they did that in the old Dickens books too. Melodramatic story about Mary, a poor little girl who is forced to live in the poor house when her family mostly dies.
I don't know why, but I did have to read to the end and find out what happened to everyone. The good characters are very good and the others are very weak mostly, instead of bad. I would bet she was like the Danielle Steel of her day, writing lots of books that were easy reads and popular women's fiction.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I get "ill" when heroines are so perfect, compared with their cohorts. Even tho Mary is not perfect, most of the others are not likeable so that she stands out as a "saint." However, one friend is a rebel, and she adds some spice to the lives of Mary and others. All in all, tho, considering when this saw print, it was probably the accepted genre -- good girl wins and lives happily ever after. This was a free download to my Kindle.

[Trine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading "Pioneer Girl" I discovered that Mary Jane Holmes was a great author back in Laura's days, so I thought I would give her a go. But I understand why she has gone into oblivion. It is Louisa Alcott without the charm and with very black and white characters where the good ones are vindicated and the bad ones get their punishment. But for all its old-fashioness an interesting read.

[DENISA HOWE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply wonderful, A lot of characters that you hate to lose when the story ends, they live a long time in your heart after closing the book. Two girls, two homes and the outcome that hurts and puts joy in your heart.

[Anna Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I started reading this book I couldn't stop. The English Orphans was the first book by Mary J Holmes I read, and I fell in love with her writing. This is one of my favorite books written by her, and is one of the many books I read annually, sometimes even twice per year.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author was born in 1832 and so some of her words are not politically correct. I like her books they take you back in time.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Underdog period morality story involving orphans, the poor house and some crazy characters. Yeah, I liked it and it was free from Amazon!

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

a happy ending after much hardship

[Lynn Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. In the same genre as a Dicken's story. The ending was kind of disappointing. Perhaps I wasn't ready for it to end.(:

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful story.

[Julianne Mckell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a nice free book to read on the Kindle.

[Soothing Rays · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet little book that I read years ago. Mary J Holmes has an inimitable knack for infusing warmth into her coming-of-age tales.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful classic. I love orphan stories for some reason...they always seem to be good :)