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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 108 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 108 pagesAbout this book
Must a woman marry to find her place—or can she watch the marriage market with a smile?
In The Love Affairs of an Old Maid, Lilian Bell brings wit and warmth to questions of courtship, independence and an unmarried woman's place in society. Her heroine looks at the marriage market with a clear eye, inviting you to consider what love promises and what freedom means.
Marriage offers security to women in the world Bell explores, but it also gives society a powerful say in their choices. This gentle social comedy turns toward men, manners and the expectations surrounding romance. Bell's lively, conversational style keeps those questions close to everyday life, where a sharp observation can reveal more than a grand declaration.
What you’ll discover
- A clear eye for courtship Look at romance through a heroine who watches the marriage market rather than simply accepting its rules.
- Wit with warmth Enjoy bright humour that makes room for tenderness as well as sharp observations about social manners.
- The value of independence Consider what women weigh when the promise of love meets the desire for freedom.
- Society and its expectations Explore a world where an unmarried woman's place raises questions about choice, belonging and security.
- A lively woman's voice Meet Bell's conversational style and her interest in the lives and choices of women.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy witty narrators watching their friends fall in and out of love will enjoy this book. It also suits anyone who loves cats, fireside confidences, and a sharp but kind view of the 1890s.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Ruth claims a different kind of freedom
- Wounded pride makes a poor match
- One partner cannot carry everything
- Love needs an answering mind
- A flirt can hide real sorrow
- Avoiding honesty spreads the hurt
- Sympathy means standing beside someone
- Humor gives tenderness room to speak
- Understanding matters more than easy judgments
Who’s who
- RuthThe narrator, an unmarried woman on the edge of thirty, who listens to her friends' love affairs and cannot always keep from advising them.
- Rachel English PercivalRuth's dearest friend, a gifted and sensitive woman with a sharp wit, who wants a husband that is her intellectual master.
- Winston PercivalAn inarticulate genius who is in love and unsure how to win the woman he wants, and who turns to Ruth for guidance.
- Sallie CoxA charming, talkative flirt who is about to marry a rich man and hides a heart that has been hurt.
- Flossy HerrickA clinging, fluffy woman who collects sympathy, expects to be waited on, and keeps her husband busy with her small ailments.
- Bronson HerrickA proud, honest lawyer with great ambitions, who gives up his dreams to support the wife he married.
- Alice AsburyA romantic, clever, self-absorbed woman who ended an engagement in anger and married the wrong man out of hurt pride.
- Charlie HardyA likable, weak-chinned man whose flirtations leave him engaged to Louise while he falls in love with Frankie.
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The Love Affairs of an Old Maid
by Lilian Bell · 1893
On the eve of thirty, Ruth locks away her love letters and faces her friends' romantic tangles with a sharp wit.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“Tomorrow I’ll be an Old Maid.”
In short
Imagine the night before your thirtieth birthday. Ruth sits with her cat Tabby, stares at the number thirty, and laughs, though the laugh sounds hollow.
The Love Affairs of an Old Maid at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 20 min1 h 50 min fast, 2 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 33,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1893by Lilian Bell
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Ruth turns thirty and claims her kingdom
The book opens on the last night of Ruth's twenty-ninth year. She talks to herself with brutal honesty and writes it down until she can laugh at it. She feels as if she were attending a funeral for something she loved in secret.
Then comes the small ritual that sets the tone. Ruth gathers her old lovers' photographs and letters and puts them in a japanned tin box with a lock. She would like to hang the key on a blue ribbon, but her sharper inner voice, her Alter Ego, asks what happens if she is run over in the street.
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On the eve of thirty, Ruth locks away her love letters and faces her friends' romantic tangles with a sharp wit.
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Details
- First published
- 1893
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 40 min
- Level
- Medium level
- Paperback
- 108 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 108 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 172 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print hardcover
- 172 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Delivery and returns
- Printed when you order. Usually here in 12 to 14 days.Arrives Wed 2 Dec to Tue 8 Decto United States, printed for you at cost
For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
Cite this edition
Bell, Lilian. The Love Affairs of an Old Maid. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-love-affairs-of-an-old-maid.
Bell, L. (2026). The love affairs of an old maid. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-love-affairs-of-an-old-maid (Original work published 1893)
Bell, Lilian. The Love Affairs of an Old Maid. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-love-affairs-of-an-old-maid.
@book{bell2026love,
author = {Bell, Lilian},
title = {The Love Affairs of an Old Maid},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-love-affairs-of-an-old-maid},
note = {First published 1893}
}
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What is The Love Affairs of an Old Maid about?
It follows Ruth, an unmarried woman who turns thirty at the start. She listens to her friends' romances and sorrows, gives advice, and sometimes meddles, with wit and kindness, while she thinks about love, marriage, and growing older.
Who wrote The Love Affairs of an Old Maid and when?
Lilian Bell, an American writer. She finished the book in Chicago in March 1893. She says in the preface that it started as a joke about how people think an old maid's love affairs belong to other people.
Who is Tabby in The Love Affairs of an Old Maid?
Tabby is Ruth's cat. She is the listener to whom Ruth confides her private thoughts, jokes, and worries. Talking to the cat lets Ruth speak freely about her friends and about her own fears of aging.
The author
Lilian Bell
1867–1929 · American novelist and travel writer
Lilian Bell (1867–1929) was an American novelist and travel writer. She was born in Chicago and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She wrote The Love Affairs of an Old Maid, published in 1893. Her books included fiction and accounts of travel. She died in 1929.
“Tomorrow I’ll be an Old Maid.”
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