8 h 50 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 50 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a woman must feed her children, but the people who could help turn away?
Ruth Hall begins married life with Harry in a home full of warmth and small pleasures. Then Harry dies, leaving her with young children and no steady income. Relatives offer little kindness. Cheap rooms, carefully counted coins and worry about tomorrow replace the comfort she once knows.
In this novel, Fanny Fern brings sharp humor and anger to Ruth's struggle to earn a living. Ruth turns to newspaper writing under the name Floy, dealing with editor Mr. Walter as she begins. Through short, quick chapters, Fern asks what independence means when families, churches and employers give a woman so little support.
What you’ll discover
- A home worth caring about Share the warmth of Ruth and Harry's marriage before loss changes her daily life.
- The hard details of poverty Enter cheap rooms where every coin matters and tomorrow brings another worry.
- A pen named Floy Follow Ruth toward newspaper work as she seeks a way to support her children.
- Kindness withheld at home Meet relatives whose coldness makes Ruth's need for independence all the more urgent.
- Humor with a sharp edge Discover Fern's wit and frank views on the treatment of women alone.
Who will love it
This book is for readers who love a heroine who stands her ground, who enjoy sharp comedy about family hypocrisy, and who want a warm story of motherhood, money and work.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Love and security are at stake
- Marriage promises a kinder home
- A home gives Ruth room
- Relatives bargain instead of helping
- Closed doors lead toward writing
- Readers value what editors underpay
- Fair dealing changes Ruth's choices
- Kindness matters more than appearances
- Her children's safety guides her work
Who’s who
- Ruth HallA sensitive, loving woman who becomes a widow and then a writer under the name Floy, determined to keep her daughters with her.
- Harry HallRuth's warm, generous husband, who shields her from his difficult family and wants a separate home for them.
- Mrs. HallHarry's mother, who judges Ruth's housekeeping and wants control of her son's household and, later, of her granddaughters.
- Doctor HallHarry's father, a stubborn country doctor who thinks he knows best and often repeats that his words tell the whole story.
- Hyacinth ElletRuth's vain brother, an editor who cares for fashion and reputation more than for his sister.
- Katy and NettieRuth's daughters, one shy and thoughtful, the other bold and funny, who share every hardship with their mother.
- John WalterThe editor of the Household Messenger, who values Floy's writing and offers her honest terms and real friendship.
- Mr. ElletRuth's father, a pious businessman who loves his money and avoids any duty to his daughter.
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Ruth Hall 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.
Ruth Hall
by Fanny Fern · 1854
A bride, a widow, then a writer: Ruth Hall fights for her two daughters with nothing but a pen.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Ruth liked it.”
In short
Picture a young woman at a window at midnight, the night before her wedding, asking the silent stars what her life will hold. She is Ruth Ellet, and within a few years she will be a widow with two small daughters, an empty purse, and relatives who shut their doors on her.
Ruth Hall at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h4 h fast, 6 h slow
- Length
- 72,000 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1854by Fanny Fern
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 lonely girl sets out as a bride
The story opens on the night before Ruth's wedding. As a child she longed for love. Her brother Hyacinth called her plain and awkward, and her father scolded her for making noise. Her mother whispered hush whenever his footsteps came near. That home taught Ruth to hide her feelings and to expect little.
At boarding school she changes. Flowers and notes begin to arrive for her, and she learns that she is no longer plain. For the first time she has something to look forward to. Her father writes only when bills arrive, and advises her to marry or teach.
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Details
- First published
- 1854
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Fern, Fanny. Ruth Hall. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/ruth-hall.
Fern, F. (2026). Ruth Hall. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ruth-hall (Original work published 1854)
Fern, Fanny. Ruth Hall. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ruth-hall.
@book{fern2026ruth,
author = {Fern, Fanny},
title = {Ruth Hall},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ruth-hall},
note = {First published 1854}
}
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What is Ruth Hall about?
It follows Ruth, a gentle young bride whose husband dies, leaving her poor. Her relatives refuse to help, so she starts writing for newspapers as Floy and works to support her two daughters and keep them with her.
Who is Floy in Ruth Hall?
Floy is the pen name Ruth chooses when her newspaper pieces are accepted. Readers across the country guess who she is, and her articles later become a published book of sketches.
Is Ruth Hall a true story?
It is a novel, though Fanny Fern drew on her own experience as a writer in newspaper offices. Its picture of editors, rival publishers and poor women trying to work reflects the world she knew.
The author
Fanny Fern
1811–1872 · American columnist and novelist
Fanny Fern was the pen name of Sara Payson Willis, an American writer born in Portland, Maine, in 1811. She lived in Boston and later New York City. She wrote newspaper columns and the novels Ruth Hall (1854) and Rose Clark (1856). She died in New York City in 1872.
“Ruth liked it.”
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