Story summary
Samenvatting van Voor de dageraad
- 8 min. leestijd
- 10 parts
- Binnenkort te beluisteren
A wounded captain in Richmond follows a woman in a brown cloak and risks his career to hide a Northern spy.
3 months free · unlimited eBooks, audiobooks and summaries, and print and large print at cost
Nothing to pay today · We mailen je voordat je betaalt · Online opzeggen in twee klikken
Voor de dageraad in het kort
Samenvatting: 8 min leestijd
- Leestijd
- Ongeveer 8 h6 h 20 min fast, 9 h 30 min slow
- Lengte
- 113.700 woorden
- Bibliotheekniveau
- Gemiddeld longer sentences, everyday words
- Voor het eerst verschenen
- 1903by Joseph A. Altsheler
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Hoelang het duurt om de klassiekers te lezen · Bijgewerkt
3 maanden gratis
Ontvang de volledige samenvatting van Voor de dageraad, gratis
- 200.000+ klassiekers als e-books, luisterboeken en samenvattingen in 15 minuten, en gedrukte boeken, ook in grote letters, tegen drukkosten
- Tot 5 lezers bij je thuis met één plan
Voor de dageraad in short
Before the Dawn follows Prescott from a wartime winter in Richmond through the great campaigns. He falls in with a lively circle of friends, makes an enemy of the clever Sefton, and cannot stop himself from helping a Northern woman who may or may not be a spy. A chase in the snow, a search of a cottage and a flight through the lines bind the two together while the armies of Lee and Grant close in.
What Voor de dageraad is about
What would you do if a tall woman in a brown cloak slipped past the sentries of a besieged capital and the whole government wanted her found? Captain Robert Prescott, a staff officer returning home, answers that question in a way that could ruin him.
Before the Dawn was written by Joseph A. Altsheler, and it follows the Confederacy's decline from the inside. The story moves from Richmond in winter, with its gambling rooms and its club of wits, to the roads and forests where Grant and Lee meet. You get a spy mystery, a love that crosses the front line, and a patient villain named Sefton.
Voor wie is het?. Readers who love Civil War history told through people, who enjoy a spy mystery with a chase through the snow, and who like a love story set in the last winter of Richmond.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A wounded captain comes home to Richmond
The story opens on a raw winter morning. A tall young captain rides the train to Richmond, his left arm stiff and his uniform full of holes. Robert Prescott has spent three years with the Army of Northern Virginia, and he is happy to be going home.
He notices a lone woman in the corner, wrapped in a long brown cloak that hides her face. When he picks up a package she drops, she gives him one curt word of thanks and turns back to the window. He forgets her. She does not forget him.
In noisy Richmond, Prescott bids at an auction against a dark, humorous lieutenant named Thomas Talbot, and the two become friends. Talbot leads him to a gambling house called the Nonpareil, where a loud congressman blames General Lee for everything. Prescott answers him sharply, because he worships Lee.
A city under siege hides serious matters behind its laughter.
- 2Begin gratis met lezen
A mother, a club and a smiling Secretary
Prescott's home is a modest brick house with white columns.
- 3Begin gratis met lezen
Sefton's pressure and Helen's new work
After the club, Prescott walks Helen home.
- 4Begin gratis met lezen
A theft, a chase and a name
Then something is stolen.
- 5Begin gratis met lezen
Coal, gold and a house search
The two women are cold and short of money, and the snow is too deep for anyone to flee.
- 6Begin gratis met lezen
Sefton's confession and a flight by wagon
The Secretary of War offers Prescott a promotion for secret-service work, hunting the very spy he is hiding.
- 7Begin gratis met lezen
Grant arrives and the Wilderness burns
Spring comes, and Prescott rejoins Lee's army.
- 8Begin gratis met lezen
Two loyalties and one proud woman
The book is about people who love someone on the other side.
- 9Begin gratis met lezen
Sefton, power and a society running out of time
Sefton is the most remarkable character in the book.
- 10Begin gratis met lezen
How the story is told
Altsheler writes for readers who like action with clear heroes and clear voices.
Read all 10 key ideas now
3 months free, then USD 0,14 a day: unlimited eBooks, audiobooks and summaries, and print and large print at cost.
- Nothing to pay today
- We mailen je voordat je betaalt
- Online opzeggen in twee klikken
Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Robert Prescott A young captain from the Deep South on General Lee's staff, mild but stubborn, who wants to serve his cause and cannot stop thinking about a Northern woman.
- Lucia Catherwood A tall, proud young woman from the Northern side, hidden in Richmond, who wants her freedom and the right to choose her own heart.
- James Sefton A smooth, powerful Secretary who rose from poverty and wants influence, safety and the woman he loves, and is willing to use secrets to get them.
- Helen Harley A beautiful Richmond girl who takes a government job to support her father and slowly grows from a society belle into a self-reliant woman.
- Thomas Talbot Prescott's cheerful lieutenant friend, forever joking and bargaining, who wants to stay in the fight and keep up everyone's spirits.
- General Wood An illiterate mountaineer and great cavalry leader who fears his own rough manners and quietly hopes to win Helen's love.
- Mrs. Markham The bright, flirtatious wife of an older general, who loves admiration and enjoys winning hearts.
- Charlotte Grayson A timid Richmond seamstress with Northern sympathies who shelters her cousin Lucia and shows surprising courage.
How it ends (spoiler)
The war ends in defeat for the South. Richmond burns as the government flees, and Union troops arrive in time to help save it. Lee surrenders at Appomattox, and Prescott hears the news from a telegraph instrument in a lonely hut. Vincent Harley and General Markham die in the last fighting. Helen is to marry Wood. Sefton goes to London and becomes a rich banker, married to Mrs. Markham. Prescott returns to Richmond, and his long, uncertain love for Lucia finally finds its way to a happy close.
The whole book is coming to your plan
The full text of Voor de dageraad opens soon. Keep this summary as a file today.
Paperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way. Email me when it is printed
Vragen over Voor de dageraad
What is Before the Dawn about?
It follows Captain Robert Prescott in Richmond and on campaign through the Confederacy's decline and the end of the Civil War. He meets a Northern woman accused of stealing government papers, helps her, and finds himself caught between love, duty and a powerful rival.
Who is Mr. Sefton in Before the Dawn?
Sefton is a quiet, clever government Secretary with great influence in Richmond. He rose from poverty by craft and patience, and he uses what he knows about others to pursue his own ambitions and the woman he loves.
Is Before the Dawn a true story?
It is a novel by Joseph A. Altsheler, with invented main characters and real figures such as Lee, Davis, Grant and John Morgan. The battles, the winter siege and the fall of Richmond come from actual history.
Who is the woman in the brown cloak?
She is Lucia Catherwood, a young woman from the Northern side who comes to Richmond to stay with her cousin, Miss Grayson. Prescott first sees her on the train, and she soon becomes the center of his life.
Is Before the Dawn easy to read?
Yes, in the sense that the story moves quickly, with short scenes, lively talk and clear heroes. The chase through the snow, the humor of Talbot and the battle chapters keep the pages turning.
Verwijs naar deze uitgave
Altsheler, Joseph A. Before the Dawn. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/before-the-dawn.
Altsheler, J. A. (2026). Before the dawn. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/before-the-dawn (Original work published 1903)
Altsheler, Joseph A. Before the Dawn. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/before-the-dawn.
@book{altsheler2026before,
author = {Altsheler, Joseph A.},
title = {Before the Dawn},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/before-the-dawn},
note = {First published 1903}
}
Crime and Punishment
Wuthering Heights
Pride and Prejudice
The Iliad
Romeo and Juliet
The Picture of Dorian Gray3 maanden gratis
Ontvang de volledige samenvatting van Voor de dageraad, gratis
- 200.000+ klassiekers als e-books, luisterboeken en samenvattingen in 15 minuten, en gedrukte boeken, ook in grote letters, tegen drukkosten
- Tot 5 lezers bij je thuis met één plan
