Agnes Stanhope: A Tale of English Life

Boston: James M. Usher, 1862. First Edition. Cloth. Near Fine. First Edition. vii, [9]-444 pages. 8vo. Publisher's cloth with titles on spine in copper, and embossed design to front and rear boards. "With the compliments of Oliver P Remick (?)" inked on the front pastedown. Penciled in front is "Lieut." and underneath is "Bro of the Author". Also Penciled on the front flyleaf is "Kittery(?)" Cloth. "REMICK, Martha. Born 11 June 1832, Kittery, Maine; died 11 April 1906, Everett, Massachusetts. Daughter of Rufus and Sally Cram Remick
The youngest daughter of a shipwright and farmer who had earned a lieutenancy in the War of 1812, Martha Remick never married, dedicating her life to writing. A family genealogy, the only source of biographical information on Remick, describes her as 'unmarried, authoress and poetess.'

In the preface to 'Agnes Stanhope: A Tale of English Life (1862)', Remick declares her purpose to show the "ever-present providence of God," but the novel is a romantic thriller that entertains far more than it elevates. Agnes, a heedless young girl, elopes with her sister Bertha's fiancé Howard. Howard soon turns to cards, whiskey, and evil companions. One of these takes Howard to visit his soon-to-be-discarded mistress Helen, who has planned to poison her faithless lover with arsenic-laced champagne. Howard accidentally drinks the potion, then staggers home to die. Accused of Howard's murder and condemned to die, Agnes escapes to Italy, where she meets and marries De Lacey, Helen's brother, who knows nothing of his sister's fallen life. They return to England, where Agnes is hard-pressed to conceal her identity. The conscience-stricken Helen does finally confess, and Agnes and De Lacey's happiness is assured." (Encyclopedia com website).