How they loved him, Vol. 1 (of 3): A novel

About this book

"How they loved him, Vol. 1 (of 3)" by Florence Marryat is a novel written in the late 19th century. It appears to be a coming‑of‑age society drama centered on Fenella Barrington, a convent‑bred, sensitive, and impulsive girl suddenly recalled to London and confronted with a vain, scheming mother and a world for which she is unprepared. Themes of innocence versus worldliness, maternal neglect, and perilous first attractions emerge early, with compassionate Mère Josephine and devoted servant Eliza Bennett as counterweights to Mrs. Barrington’s self‑interest.

The opening of the novel unfolds in a serene convent at Ansprach, where Fenella’s warmth and naiveté are revealed as Mère Josephine insists she must leave for her health despite her mother’s attempts—via the servant Eliza Bennett—to keep her abroad. Fenella’s tearful farewells lead to a journey through Calais and Dover, where her unguarded innocence surfaces in a frank exchange with a young stranger who has been staring at her. On reaching London, she receives a cool, inconvenient welcome from Mrs. Barrington, who heads out to a dinner engagement and, later that night, coldly plots to send Fenella to Eliza’s humble seaside family in Wales while she pursues prospects at Mentone. Bennett, kinder than her mistress, comforts the heartbroken girl; the next morning brings a prettier surface of maternal charm over the same plan, as talk of shopping gives way to the looming “sea‑air” solution.