2 h 38 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
The sea gives a family its living—but what happens when love must endure a long silence?
In Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s Enoch Arden, &c., a fisherman risks a long voyage to support his wife and children. At home, Annie Lee keeps the household going and waits for news. Philip Ray, the miller’s son who loves her, stays close with kindness and restraint. Their story asks what loyalty demands when absence stretches on.
This collection of Victorian poetry includes the blank-verse narrative Enoch Arden, alongside Aylmer’s Field and Sea Dreams. Tennyson turns from knights and legends to sailors, millers and country families. A harbour, a cliff and a mill frame the title poem, where hard work, longing and the needs of children give ordinary choices their weight.
What you’ll discover
- A farewell held close Enoch comforts Annie with practical words, making their parting tender without setting fear aside.
- Three lives under strain Follow Enoch, Annie and Philip as each tries to act well under difficult demands.
- The sea’s uncertain promise Enter a coastal world where the water provides work but offers no lasting security.
- Ordinary grief taken seriously Meet working people whose love and sorrow receive the poet’s full attention.
- The cost of devotion Consider what we owe those we love, and how far self-denial can go.
Who will love it
For readers who love a story told in verse, sea tales, quiet moral dilemmas and Victorian feeling, with love, loyalty and sacrifice at their heart.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Three children share one small harbour town
- Marriage and work bring luck, then a blow
- A farewell, a long wait, and a distant island
- Duty, sacrifice and the plain voice of the verse
Who’s who
- Enoch ArdenA fisherman and sailor of a coastal village, proud, hard-working and devoted to his wife and children, who risks a long voyage to support them.
- Annie LeeThe village girl Enoch marries, a loving mother who must keep her household going and bear the long wait for news.
- Philip RayThe miller's son, who has loved Annie since childhood and stays close to her family with kindness and restraint.
- The children of Enoch and AnnieThe family's young children, whose needs drive Enoch's decision to go to sea and whose growing up marks the passing years.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Énoch Arden, etc.
by Alfred, lord Tennyson · 1864
A fisherman goes to sea to support his family, leaving his wife and the friend who loves her to face his absence.
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In short
Enoch Arden, &c. is a volume of poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, published in 1864. It takes its name from the title poem, a story in blank verse about a fisherman, his wife, and the man who also loves her.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Three children share one small harbour town
Enoch Arden opens in a fishing village on the English coast. A harbour, a cliff and a mill make up the world of the poem. Three children grow up here: Enoch Arden, Annie Lee and Philip Ray. Enoch is the sailor's son, bold and sure of himself. Philip is the miller's son, shy and gentle.
As a child, Enoch plays at being master of a household, and Annie is his make-believe wife. Philip stands at the edge of the game and wishes to be let in. Tennyson sketches this scene with warmth, and it plants the whole story. A game of the shore will later become a real choice with real costs.
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What is Enoch Arden about?
It is a narrative poem about a fisherman, his wife Annie and her old friend Philip Ray. A hardship sends Enoch to sea, and the poem follows what the separation does to all three.
Who are the main characters in Enoch Arden?
The main characters are Enoch Arden, a fisherman and sailor, Annie Lee, who becomes his wife, and Philip Ray, the miller's son who loves her. Their children also appear in the story.
When was Enoch Arden written and is it a true story?
It was published in 1864 in a volume of Tennyson's poems. It is a work of fiction, though it draws on the real life of English fishing communities and the dangers of seafaring.
The author
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
1809–1892 · English Victorian poet
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) was an English poet born in Somersby, Lincolnshire. He later lived on the Isle of Wight and in Surrey. He wrote The Princess (1847), In Memoriam (1850), and Enoch Arden (1864). Idylls of the King appeared between 1859 and 1885. He became Poet Laureate in 1850.
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