Angela's Business

by Henry Sydnor Harrison, F.R. Gruger

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915. Excerpt: ... XVIII FINDING himself unable to reflect with pleasure or pride upon this interview, Charles resolved, within the hour, not to reflect upon it at all. For the fourth time--or was it the fourteenth?--he determined to think of Egoettes no more. At least, he had given his warning, unthanked, and that ended it. He might rest upon the ground that the match would really be a very suitable thing; or, conversely, he might argue that Donald was just amusing himself a little with Angela, at odd tunes, while at heart perfectly true to Helen, etc. But chiefly he stood upon the warning which made all this Mary Wing's concern henceforward, and no longer his. And, bent upon bringing his last relation and duty in the case to a clear, honorable conclusion, Charles sallied from the Studio next morning with the new "Marna" tucked under his arm. But there seemed to hang a curse over everything connected with this unhappy book. Because he had brought it with him to-day, the azure heavens became overcast at noon; at two o'clock, it was drizzling dismally; and all that afternoon, and all the next day, the cold rain poured in torrents. To call in such home-keeping weather would be a wanton provocation: Charles hung off, yet again. The third day proved well worth waiting for, a brilliant, blue, and tingling day, gloriously inviting to all owners of vehicles. And now a new plague befell. When Charles emerged from Miss Grace's on this day, his face firmly set for his duty, the Big Six was n't there. The discovery was most disconcerting. The young man stood irresolute on the Choristers' steps, "Marna" clutched in his hands, gazing up and down the street. Unfortunately, Eustace's habits had not been kept completely virtuous by his light duties with his mistress's tutor. The grinning b...

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Henry Sydnor Harrison was an American novelist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_S...

Reviews

[Peter McGinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first book I read by this author: “Queed.” The dialogue sounded modern (after all, it was published in 1915!) and realistic to the ear, and I liked the characters, especially the heroine, who was witty and lively like the female leads I like to include in the novels I write.

This novel— Angela’s Business —wasn’t the same experience for me. The female lead was smart and forward-thinking, but the author muddied the issue of who she was at the end. And I really didn’t like Charles, the lead male or hero if you will. He thought only of himself, as far as the writing felt to me, though we are to understand later he was thinking mostly of the above-mentioned heroine. He was supposedly a writer himself but instead of writing fiction exactly, he wrote about the people he knew and, judging by his thought processes, used his novels to lecture to the readers. It really wasn’t very believable to me, so perhaps we should just think of him as an unreliable narrator as that can cover a variety or writerly sins.

I will read another book by Mr. Harrison, to be sure, but my less enthusiastic reception of this book will free me up to move on to different writers in the short term.

[L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is Angela's business you may ask? Well, for the longest time her business is staring out a window and watching people passing by. We're not talking Rear Window kind of watching. Eventually Angela moves up to being an Uber driver.

There was almost potential here as author Henry Harrison's story delves (just a little bit) into the mystique of the Modern Woman. Would she be happier with work and a career over having a family? Could she have both?

But then we go back to that darn Angela puttering around town in her Fordette and sometimes carting around that wishy washy Charles Garrott.