23 h 17 minAudiobook4 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
What happens when a woman who speaks her heart enters a world where people rarely mean what they say?
Near Norway’s Altenfjord, where the summer sun barely sets, Thelma Guldmar lives with her protective father, Olaf. Music, old legends and the northern landscape shape her sheltered world. Then Sir Philip Bruce-Errington arrives from England, drawn to her at once and eager for her to share his life.
London brings Thelma into drawing rooms ruled by gossip, display and polite cruelty. Her frankness meets people who treat conversation as a game, while Lady Winsleigh’s charm and ambition pose a danger. In this Victorian romance, Marie Corelli asks whether sincere feeling can stand against wealth and the empty rules of rank.
What you’ll discover
- A world beside the fjord Enter a northern landscape of lingering summer light, music and old Norse traditions.
- A heroine who speaks plainly Meet Thelma, whose honest words stand apart from London’s carefully managed conversations.
- Love across different worlds Follow Philip’s attraction to Thelma as the romance moves from Norway into fashionable London.
- Charm with a dangerous edge Encounter Lady Winsleigh, whose social grace comes with ambition and danger for those around her.
- Sincerity against social display Explore Corelli’s contrast between natural feeling, simple living and the demands of rank.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who enjoy Victorian romance, melodrama and stories that set country simplicity against city manners. If you want quiet realism or a light, modern pace, you may find its strong feeling and moral speeches too heavy.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A girl raised by the northern fjord
- An Englishman comes to her world
- London tests her honesty
- What the novel argues and how it speaks
Who’s who
- Thelma GuldmarA young Norwegian woman raised by the fjord, musical and frank, who knows little of the world beyond her home.
- Olaf GuldmarThelma's father, who holds to the old Norse ways and guards his daughter from the wider world.
- Sir Philip Bruce-ErringtonAn English baronet who travels to Norway, is drawn to Thelma, and wants her to share his life.
- Lady WinsleighA London society woman whose charm and ambition make her a danger to those around her.
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
- 23 h 17 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 4 minutes, to read or to hear.
- 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.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- 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, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: USD 0.14 a day, then USD 0.27 a day, never raised. Or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Thelma in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4
A girl raised by the northern fjord
The story opens in the far north of Norway, near the Altenfjord, where the sun barely sets in summer. Thelma Guldmar lives there with her father, Olaf Guldmar. He holds to the old Norse ways and keeps his daughter close to nature and to song.
Thelma grows up outside the manners and habits of fashionable Europe. She is open, musical and fearless, and she trusts what she feels. Corelli draws her as someone who has learned about the world from mountains, water and legend rather than from drawing rooms.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
Marie Corelli
1855–1924 · British novelist
Marie Corelli was an English novelist and one of the best-selling authors of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, at her height outselling most of her famous contemporaries. The Sorrows of Satan, her 1895 tale of a devil's bargain in literary London, is often called one of the world's first modern bestsellers.
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. 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 - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More like this
Free
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
Questions about Thelma
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 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.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is Thelma by Marie Corelli about?
It tells of Thelma Guldmar, a Norwegian girl raised by a fjord, who falls in love with an English baronet and enters London society, where her honesty meets the manners and hypocrisy of the rich.
When was Thelma written?
Marie Corelli published Thelma in 1887. It is a work of fiction, not a true story, though it draws on Norwegian scenery and legend and on Victorian ideas about society and sincerity.
Where is Thelma set?
The story begins in northern Norway near the Altenfjord, then moves to England, mainly London and its fashionable drawing rooms. The contrast between the two settings carries much of the book's meaning.
Popular in romance
See all
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
