In Affection and Esteem

Résumé du document

Mary Webb was born in 1881 at Leighton. She grew up in a large house in Much Wenlock. Mary Webb was the eldest of six children and began writing stories and plays for her brothers and sisters. At the age of twenty, she fell ill because she had thyroid disorder. During her convalescence, she started to write essays. In 1910, she met Henry B. L. Webb, a teacher and they got married in 1912. After the wedding, she began to write her first novel. In 1921, her husband took up a teaching post in London and they moved to live in the capital. In London, Mary Webb met writers and editors. Her work was appreciated by critics but she didn't know a popular success before her death. In 1927, she died because of her thyroid problems. A few months after her death, the Prime Minister said she had been a great English writer and from that moment, her books became best-sellers.

Extraits

[...] She lives in London and works in a shop where she stitches buttonholes. Miss Brown is poor and she's grateful for having a roof over her head. She loves flowers and her dream is to receive an enormous bouquet of flowers with a few words of greetings on a card. There are two others characters who intervene in the story. First, there is a shopkeeper in Covent Garden and then, there is the landlady. Two characters are only mentioned: the postman and Miss Elvira Brown who is an actress. [...]

[...] She had heard too, that on birthdays and at funerals, it was common to send flowers with a card. All Miss Brown's birthdays had been alike and one day, she decided to save up for buying a bouquet of flowers for her birthday. So, she began to scrimp and save. Gradually, the sum increased. Miss Brown was determined and before her birthday, she had saved up two pounds to fulfil her dream. She had some remorse but she forgot them quickly. Indeed, Miss Brown though it wasn't be serious to spend so much money in flowers. [...]

[...] In Affection and Esteem IN AFFECTION AND ESTEEM The author Mary Webb was born in 1881 at Leighton. She grew up in a large house in Much Wenlock. Mary Webb was the eldest of six children and began writing stories and plays for her brothers and sisters. At the age of twenty, she fell ill because she had thyroid disorder. During her convalescence, she started to write essays. In 1910, she met Henry B. L. Webb, a teacher and they get married in 1912. [...]

[...] She waited for several hours and the postman didn't come. Miss Brown asked the landlady if there was a parcel for her but she said there was nothing for her. A moment later, she added that there had been a parcel for Miss Brown but it was an expensive box with Flowers” on it. The landlady said she had though the flowers were for the actress Miss Elvira Brown and had sent them to her because she used to receive a lot of flower. [...]

[...] In the shop, she was very happy and seems to be a butterfly among the flowers. When the shopkeeper had finished the bouquet with the address and when Miss Brown had paid, the shopkeeper asked her if she would add a card. Miss Brown said him to write affection and esteem” and added that the bouquet was for her only friend. After her order, Miss Brown went to her work and then she came back home. In her little room, she slept, waiting the postman. [...]