Vanity Fair
Chapter 8: Private and Confidential
by William Makepeace Thackeray
Rebecca describes the Crawley family to Amelia. Rebecca meets her charges.
Rebecca describes the Crawley family to Amelia. Rebecca meets her charges.
Now at his home, the narrator talks with a soldier about the current state of affairs.
A biography of Arthur Cayley.
The Tuskegee Institute creates a new program to allow the less privileged to attend. The author's skills as a public speaker put him in a position of high demand.
Thoreau describes the many sounds that can be heard from his cabin.
There is a christening and the nurse drops the newborn prince. the Queen dies.
The chancellor and the sub-warden discuss the populace who are actually saying more bread—less taxes.
Svidrigailov discusses his relationship with Marfa Petrovana and current engagement, ensuring Raskolnikov that he no longer has any interest in Dunya.
Jane contemplates her supernatural experience of the previous night, wondering whether it was really Rochester’s voice that she heard calling to her and whether Rochester might actually be in trouble. She finds a note from St. John urging her to resist temptation, but nevertheless she boards a coach to Thornfield. She travels to the manor, anxious to see Rochester and reflecting on the ways in which her life has changed in the single year since she left. Once hopeless, alone, and impoverished, Jane now has friends, family, and a fortune. She hurries to the house after her coach arrives and is shocked to find Thornfield a charred ruin. She goes to an inn called the Rochester Arms to learn what has happened. Here, she learns that Bertha Mason set the house ablaze several months earlier. Rochester saved his servants and tried to save his wife, but she flung herself from the roof as the fire raged around her. In the fire, Rochester lost a hand and went blind. He has taken up residence in a house called Ferndean, located deep in the forest, with John and Mary, two elderly servants.
Claude Frollo receives a visitor in his laboratory. Jacques Coictier, accompanied by the aging Father Tourangeau, is shocked by Claude Frollo's views. As he departs, Father Tourangeau divulges his identity to Claud Frollo.
Newland and May travel to Europe for the honeymoon, where they visit with friends.
David visits Mrs. Steerforth, now an invalid, to deliver some bad news.
Phileas' heroic profession is quickly backed by both Sir Francis and Passepartout. As the Parsee guide divulges greater details about the condemned woman's life, Phileas becomes more determined to rescue Aouda. Passepartout devises an intricate plan to save Aouda.
Henry's regiment moves to relieve a embattled unit. Henry and the men openly criticize the leadership of the brigade. Henry continues to reflect the previous days events.
Many are enchanted by the mountains but none leave alive. A family loses their seven sons to the mountain until the youngest sets out to try to do what his brothers could not. He manages to break the enchantment, and meets Zoulvisia. Out of kindness, he brings an old woman back to the palace, despite the misgivings of others. The woman is a witch, and Zoulvisia reveals secrets to her that put their lives in danger. The prince and Zoulvisia plan her escape.
David returns home to find that many thing have changed.
Huck hides the money in the deceased man's coffin, only to have it sealed by the undertaker before can remove it. The dauphin questions Huck about the missing money.
The narrator describes his stay on Daytona Beach and what he saw there — from birds to plays to scenery.
Now on "Endeavor Island", Hump and Maud are determined to make the best of the situation.
The narrator and his sister spy a light in Cloomber Tower and discover two people inside.
Captain Nemo's behavior changes dramatically after departing the American coast. The Nautilus and her crew encounter the giant squid.
The General and Rufus are gone and Mordaunt refuses to tell anyone where they are or what has happened to them.
Beth's visit to the Hummel family has unintended consequences.