What do you think?
A Bed of Roses
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
396 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1911
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
January 23, 2018
1911 novel about a young widow, Victoria, who is left without much money after the death of her alcoholic husband. Raised to be a "lady" and marry well, she has no skills to get a good paying job, and so must get whatever job she can. Initially she gets a job as a lady's companion, but when her employer's son makes sexual advances toward her and is found out by his mother, it is Victoria who is punished by being fired. Desperate for work, Victoria then takes a job as a waitress in a cafe. But circumstances and alot of bad luck force her to find other jobs, each more physically demanding and paying less money.
When her health begins to be affected by her job, she feels all is hopeless. A friend who frequents the cafe she works at tells her about the plight of the workers, especially female workers, and how she should do whatever she can to better her situation in life. One day Victoria meets an old friend of her husband's in the park and finds he's inherited a great deal of money. He tells her he's always been attracted to her, but is not the marrying kind. He suggests that Victoria become his kept mistress and then she can stop working, regain her health, and be set financially. Remembering the words of the friend from the cafe, she agrees to do it. She feels this - or marriage - is the only way for a woman to get ahead, financially, in life. But she soons sees that her arraingement is just another type of job and her life is no bed of roses.
This novel had a surprisingly modern feel to it, and was written with a feminist viewpoint. The ending was also a bit surprising for the time it was written, as it doesn't condemn Victoria for her choices in life. An interesting read.
When her health begins to be affected by her job, she feels all is hopeless. A friend who frequents the cafe she works at tells her about the plight of the workers, especially female workers, and how she should do whatever she can to better her situation in life. One day Victoria meets an old friend of her husband's in the park and finds he's inherited a great deal of money. He tells her he's always been attracted to her, but is not the marrying kind. He suggests that Victoria become his kept mistress and then she can stop working, regain her health, and be set financially. Remembering the words of the friend from the cafe, she agrees to do it. She feels this - or marriage - is the only way for a woman to get ahead, financially, in life. But she soons sees that her arraingement is just another type of job and her life is no bed of roses.
This novel had a surprisingly modern feel to it, and was written with a feminist viewpoint. The ending was also a bit surprising for the time it was written, as it doesn't condemn Victoria for her choices in life. An interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review