7 h 25 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 25 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a small Southern town, wanting more from life means making room for love—and the opinions of your neighbors.
Old Ebenezer by Opie Percival Read brings ambition and romance into the close world of a Deep South town. Ordinary people live among local manners that shape their choices. The wish to rise in the world runs beside the pull of love, giving this small-town story its central tension.
Read brings a journalist’s eye for speech, habit and character, along with a humorist’s dry smile. This is fiction at an easy pace, with room to pause over people rather than hurry past them. Its pleasures lie in gentle American humor and the ways a small community becomes a whole world.
What you’ll discover
- Ambition close to home Explore the wish to get ahead within the close boundaries of small-town life.
- Romance alongside aspiration Discover how love complicates the desire to rise in the world.
- A dry, gentle smile Enjoy humor rooted in ordinary habits, familiar speech and the observation of character.
- The weight of local manners Notice how a community’s customs help shape the lives of its ordinary people.
- Room to linger Settle into an easy pace that gives character and humor space to unfold.
Who will love it
This is for readers who like gentle humor, quick talk, and country characters drawn with affection. It suits anyone who enjoys a love story that grows by small steps and a hero who wins by kindness.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A quiet man meets public pride
- Friendship matters more than ready money
- Honesty costs Lyman his partnership
- A parlor joke becomes a marriage
- Eva asks for protection
- Lyman refuses to name a price
- Courage leaves room for mercy
- Country humor questions what wealth means
- Protection brings a personal question
Who’s who
- Sam LymanA gentle Vermont schoolteacher turned lawyer, editor, and writer, who wants honest work and the chance to be of use.
- Eva McElwinThe banker's daughter and belle of the town, spoiled by flattery but beginning to think, who wants freedom from an engagement she dreads.
- James McElwinThe proud, nervous banker who wants his daughter to marry a rich man and his own dignity to stay untouched.
- WarrenThe cheerful, always-broke editor of the Weekly Sentinel, who wants regular readers, news, and a wife as lively as himself.
- Zeb SawyerA bullying mule trader engaged to Eva, who wants her hand, her father's money, and Lyman out of town.
- Uncle Buckley LightfootThe wise old oracle of Fox Grove, who loves Lyman like a son and brings him pickles.
- John CaruthersLyman's lazy first law partner, who talks easily and wants money without work.
- Nancy PittA shy, strong farm girl whom Warren pursues with great speed, and who wants a steady, loving man.
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
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- 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.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Old Ebenezer in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Old Ebenezer
by Opie Percival Read · 1897
A Vermont schoolteacher takes up law and lands in a prank wedding that ties him to a banker's daughter.
Medium level2–5 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“Unless a man has something to lift, he can never find out how strong he is.”
In short
What happens when a quiet schoolteacher walks into a parlor game and walks out married to the richest banker's daughter? That question drives Old Ebenezer, a comic novel of a sleepy Southern county seat.
Old Ebenezer at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 10 min3 h 20 min fast, 5 h slow
- Length
- 60,000 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1897by Opie Percival Read
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
A restless Yankee leaves the schoolroom for law
Sam Lyman comes from Vermont with a good college record and very little luck. He has bought crossties, kept books, split slabs at a sawmill, and counted eggs in a country store. Failure taught him that a diploma means little in commerce, so he drifts south to a milder place.
There he teaches for forty dollars a month. He is past thirty-five, tall, lean, and plain, with kind eyes and a voice like church music. The local oracle, old Buckley Lightfoot, spots two law books under his arm and announces it at the store. He predicts that Lyman will leave for the ungodly haste of Old Ebenezer.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1897
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Read, Opie Percival. Old Ebenezer. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/old-ebenezer.
Read, O. P. (2026). Old Ebenezer. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/old-ebenezer (Original work published 1897)
Read, Opie Percival. Old Ebenezer. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/old-ebenezer.
@book{read2026old,
author = {Read, Opie Percival},
title = {Old Ebenezer},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/old-ebenezer},
note = {First published 1897}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Old Ebenezer
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Old Ebenezer about?
It follows Sam Lyman, a Vermont schoolteacher who moves to a Southern county seat, takes up law, then newspaper writing, and is accidentally married in a parlor game to the banker's daughter. Humor, friendship, and slow love carry the story.
Who is Sam Lyman?
Sam Lyman is the gentle hero of Old Ebenezer. A tall, lean New Englander past thirty-five, he has failed at many jobs but keeps kind eyes, quick wit, and a gift for writing sketches of country life.
What does the title Old Ebenezer mean?
Old Ebenezer is the name of the sleepy county seat where most of the story takes place. The town has a bank, a courthouse, a weekly newspaper, and neighbors who watch every move Lyman makes.
The author
Opie Percival Read
1852–1939 · American novelist and journalist
Opie Percival Read (1852–1939) was an American journalist and novelist. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and later lived in Chicago, Illinois, where he died. He wrote novels, short stories, and newspaper articles. His novels include Old Ebenezer, which was published in 1897.
“Unless a man has something to lift, he can never find out how strong he is.”
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
