The marriage of Susan by Helen Reimensnyder Martin
"The marriage of Susan" by Helen Reimensnyder Martin is a novel written in the early 20th century. It centers on Susan Schrekengust, a bright young woman from a Mennonite, Pennsylvania Dutch family, whose love for the well-born Sidney Houghton collides with class snobbery, money, and reputation. As rural simplicity meets urbane ambition, the book examines how love, pride, and social standing shape the terms of marriage and a woman's agency amid pressure
from Sidney’s family, a rich uncle, and a hard, grasping half-brother. The opening of the novel shows Sidney’s mother descending on the village of Reifsville to break the engagement, only to be parried by Susan’s calm intelligence—and a daring bluff that the wealthy Uncle George wants to marry her—which wins a reluctant truce. That evening Sidney visits; their tender talk reveals his class prejudices and his pressure for intimacy, which Susan resists on principle until passion prevails. Months later, as Sidney distances himself and is seen everywhere with the university president’s daughter, Susan confronts him, discovers he has sold the furniture she paid for, and forces a reckoning by revealing her pregnancy; when the rival arrives mid-scene, Susan publicly claims an imminent wedding before collapsing. A year on, she is teaching at White Oak Station, dulled by sorrow and carefully avoiding the unwelcome attention of Joe Houghton, signaling that the early chapters chart her fall, resolve, and precarious footing in a hostile social world. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Martin, Helen Reimensnyder, 1868-1939 |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | DeMaris, Walter, 1877-1947 |
| Title | The marriage of Susan |
| Original Publication | Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1921. |
| Credits | Al Haines |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Inheritance and succession -- Fiction |
| Subject | Man-woman relationships -- Fiction |
| Subject | American fiction -- 20th century |
| Subject | Families -- Fiction |
| Subject | Spouses -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 77875 |
| Release Date | Feb 6, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 214 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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