14 h 46 minAudiobook17 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 46 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
New motors promise freedom, but Edwardian manners still have a firm hand on the wheel.
In The Chauffeur and the Chaperon, C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson bring a light romance to the waterways of the Netherlands. Motor-boats, canals and fine scenery frame a sunny story of travel and affection, where the pleasures of a journey meet the demands of social life.
A chauffeur drives; a chaperon watches over. Those roles bring companionship, rank and propriety into the same story. In this Edwardian world, people have their places, and manners matter. Against that ordered background, the new motor age offers freedom, speed and a little danger, while affection brings surprises of its own.
What you’ll discover
- Romance on the waterways Follow a love story shaped by water travel and the canals of the Netherlands.
- The thrill of motors Enter an age when cars and motor-boats carry the promise of freedom and adventure.
- Manners with real weight Explore a world where rank and proper conduct shape how people relate to one another.
- Warmth along the way Enjoy a bright, friendly voice that makes room for pleasant company and fine scenery.
- The surprises of affection Find gentle romantic pleasure in the meeting of social rules and unexpected feelings.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy sparkling banter, romantic mix-ups and a holiday on the water. If you love canals, windmills, Dutch painting and old-fashioned charm, this voyage will suit your taste.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A fortune shrinks to a motorboat
- Rotterdam, a stranger aboard Lorelei
- A Scottish aunt and a Dutch cousin
- Scheveningen, the sea, and the horse show
- The skipper's secret and the hired aunt
- Life aboard and a surprise dinner at Leiden
- Haarlem, Aalsmeer, Amsterdam and a threat
- Dead cities, a storm, and a night fair
- Four voices and a fraud for love
Who’s who
- Nell Van BurenA quick-witted American writer of serial stories who inherits a motorboat and insists on taking it through Holland, though she cannot stand her skipper.
- Phyllis RiversNell's gentle English stepsister, a typist full of rules and prayers, who follows Nell onto the water and finds her heart is not hers to command.
- Rudolph BrederodeA Dutch nobleman, horseman and swimmer who falls in love with Nell and disguises himself as the skipper of her boat to win her.
- Ronald Lester StarrA charming American painter who wants to join the cruise so badly that he hires a pretend Scottish aunt to chaperon the girls.
- Robert van BurenNell's huge, grave Dutch cousin who manages a factory, disapproves of the trip and finds himself drawn into it.
- Lady MacNairne, the chaperonA small, bespectacled, birdlike woman hired by Starr to play his aunt, who loves her bulldog and gets her way with everyone.
- TibeA tan bulldog with a fearsome face and a loving heart, who is mobbed by crowds and tumbles into a lily-covered lake.
- Freule Menela van der WindtRobert's thin, clever, snobbish fiancée from The Hague, who looks down on the van Buren family and wants a life of fashion.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 14 h 46 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 17 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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L’autista e la chaperon
by C. N. Williamson; A. M. Williamson · 1906
Two stepsisters sail a motorboat through Holland, chaperoned by an aunt who is not an aunt.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Chauffeur and the Chaperon is a light romantic novel by C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson, the husband and wife team who wrote many travel romances in the early 1900s. It grew out of a real motorboat holiday on the Dutch waterways, and the authors dedicate it to the Rotterdam friend who helped them on that voyage.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A fortune shrinks to a motorboat
The book opens in a rented flat in Clapham, where Nell is lingering in the bath and dreaming of a rich future. She writes serial stories for a living, and her stepsister Phil types for a living. Both girls believe that old Captain Noble has left them a fortune, because a gossiping friend has told them so. Nell plans to burn the typewriter, buy a house and travel.
Then Phil taps on the bathroom door with a letter from the captain's lawyer. The truth is much smaller than the rumour. Phil is left two hundred pounds, and Nell is left a motorboat that lies on a canal in Holland. Nell shrieks that this cannot be so, and Phil, who is calm and sensible, suggests investing the money for about twelve pounds a year.
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What is The Chauffeur and the Chaperon about?
Two stepsisters inherit a motorboat in Holland and cruise the Dutch waterways with a young American painter, a hired chaperon and a mysterious skipper. The story mixes romance, disguise and travel through towns, canals and markets.
Who wrote The Chauffeur and the Chaperon and when?
It was written by C. N. Williamson and A. M. Williamson, a husband and wife who wrote many travel romances in the early 1900s. The story is set in the Edwardian summer and is based on a real tour of Holland.
Why is the book called The Chauffeur and the Chaperon?
The title names two roles in the tale. The chauffeur drives the motor, and the chaperon is the woman who shields the two girls on the voyage. One of them is not what she seems.
The author
C. N. Williamson
1857–1920 · British novelist and motoring journalist
British writer and motoring journalist, novelist frequently as duo with wife A. M. Williamson.
More by C. N. Williamson; A. M. Williamson
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