"A Book of Martyrs" by Cornelia Atwood Pratt is a collection of narratives published in the late 19th century. The stories within explore themes of personal sacrifice, moral dilemmas, and human resilience, often centered around intriguing central characters facing profound life challenges. The opening of the work presents an interesting prelude to the first story, "Witherle's Freedom," which introduces Witherle, a minister who suddenly disappears from his comfortable life, leaving his friends and family bewildered by his abrupt choices. His life had been orderly and fulfilling by societal standards, yet an internal yearning for true freedom compels him to abandon it all for an uncertain existence. The narrative sets up a dramatic exploration of Witherle’s motivations and the consequences of his quest for liberation as he grapples with his inner turmoil upon unexpectedly encountering a former acquaintance, who is eager to understand the reasoning behind his drastic departure. The complex interplay of obligation, fulfillment, and self-discovery creates a thoughtful opening that suggests deeper thematic explorations to come within the collection. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Reading ease score: 81.1 (6th grade). Easy to read.
Contents
Witherle's freedom -- Serene's religious experience; an inland story -- An instance of chivalry -- A consuming fire -- An unearned reward -- Hardesty's cowardice -- "The honor of a gentleman" -- Rivals -- At the end of the world.
Credits
The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
