10 h 55 minAudiobook6 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
In the fog on Waterloo Bridge, a woman risks her life to stop a desperate man from taking another.
Midnight sounds through London's thick fog. An elderly gentleman loses his way on Waterloo Bridge, pays a ragged boy for directions, and hears a whistle. Soon, a stranger seizes his throat. In Fergus Hume's A Woman's Burden, the distance between comfort and danger shrinks to a few steps across wet stone.
Miriam rushes to the gentleman's aid and calls his attacker Jabez. He claims their hunger justifies his violence; she refuses to let him kill. When a constable arrives, suspicion falls on the woman who intervenes. Her courage meets a world quick to judge by appearances, where poverty and respectability receive very different treatment.
What you’ll discover
- A bridge swallowed by fog Dim lamps, cold stone, and an unseen river turn a crossing into a threat.
- Miriam's dangerous stand Meet a woman who puts herself at risk rather than allow a killing.
- Hunger against conscience Jabez invokes their shared starvation, but Miriam refuses to accept his brutal answer.
- Respectability under pressure A gentleman's fur coat and Miriam's treatment expose the sharp divide between their positions.
- Suspicion after rescue The constable's response adds fresh unease when Miriam should have reason to feel safe.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy Victorian settings, foggy London, village gossip and secrets from the past will find plenty here. It suits anyone drawn to strong heroines, family loyalty, and a murder that hangs over a whole parish.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A rescue and a strange bargain
- A governess among enemies
- Barton's terrible reason
- A plain truth in the pine wood
- Secrets in the churchyard
- A Christmas dinner and a death
- Accusations and an escape to London
- The burden of a loving heart
- How Hume tells the story
Who’s who
- Miriam CraneA sea captain's daughter, brave and honest, who saves a stranger on Waterloo Bridge and spends her life carrying other people's burdens.
- Richard BartonThe squire of Lesser Thorpe, a cold, rat-like man with a hold over others and a plan for revenge on his dead sister.
- Gerald ArkelBarton's handsome, sunny nephew, who loves pleasure and dodges work and needs a strong hand to keep him from ruin.
- Hilda MarshA pretty doctor's daughter raised to marry money, who wants a rich husband and a way out of poverty.
- Mrs. Dacre DarrowBarton's vain, whining niece, who plays the martyr, hates Miriam and spends her days spying on and gossiping about her.
- Major John DundasBarton's other nephew, a plain, honest soldier who admires Miriam and wants to do what is right.
- Mrs. ParsleyThe vicar's blunt, bossy wife, who rules the parish, rubs her nose when puzzled and takes Miriam under her wing.
- JabezMiriam's desperate, ungrateful companion from her days of poverty, who keeps asking her for money and puts her in danger.
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- Audiobook
- 10 h 55 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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A Woman's Burden
by Fergus Hume · 1900
A starving woman saves a stranger on Waterloo Bridge, and his strange plan for her follows her to a village.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What would you do if a stranger in the fog was about to be robbed and you had nothing left to lose? Miriam Crane, a sea captain's daughter starving in London, steps in.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A rescue and a strange bargain
At midnight on Waterloo Bridge, a thick fog hides hungry people and thieves. A man named Jabez grabs an elderly gentleman by the throat. Miriam, who knows Jabez from her hungry days, climbs onto the parapet and swears she will jump unless he lets go.
He gives way, and the gentleman, Richard Barton, insists she come with him to the Pitt Hotel. Over a meal he watches her with a cold, satisfied eye. She says he reminds her of a rat.
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What is A Woman's Burden about?
It tells of Miriam Crane, a penniless woman who saves an old man on Waterloo Bridge. He hires her as a governess for a hidden purpose, and she is drawn into family secrets, blackmail and a murder.
Who is Jabez in A Woman's Burden?
Jabez is the man who attacks Barton on the bridge and whom Miriam shields. He is tied to her past, and his need for money and his dangerous temper keep threatening her new life.
Who is the Shadow in the book?
The Shadow is the tall, thin man in black who does secret work for Barton and warns Miriam about Jabez. He is a haunted figure with his own history and links to Barton's family.
The author
Fergus Hume
1859–1932 · English mystery novelist
Fergus Hume (1859–1932) was a British novelist born in England. He grew up in Dunedin, New Zealand, and moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 1885. He published The Mystery of a Hansom Cab in 1886. He returned to England in 1888 and continued writing crime novels, including The Green Mummy.
More by Fergus Hume
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