Gloria

When Gloria de la Vera, the district's adored heiress, suddenly begs poor fisherman David Lindsay to marry her and take her away, the request lands like a cry for rescue from a life shadowed by fear and secrecy. Behind the romance lies a Gothic coastal world of stormy waters, pirate legends, buried treasure, and Promontory Hall, a bleak estate where family pride and old griefs linger like salt air. The novel traces the hidden history that led there: Colonel Marcellus de Crespigney, a handsome but impoverished retired officer, meets the de la Vera family at Saratoga and becomes the center of little Gloria's affection. His courtship of the pale, sensitive Eusebie La Compte leads to a marriage shaped by sympathy, circumstance, and hope rather than passion. After the Mexican War, they settle at the remote family estate, where childlessness and resentment deepen their unhappiness until orphaned Gloria comes to live with them. Bright, impulsive, and tender-hearted, Gloria becomes the household's fragile peacemaker. Her bond with David—formed in a springtime meeting among the fishing nets—grows after he pulls her from the tide at Rogues' Neck and she is revived by Dame Lindsay's steady care. As Christmas Eve brings prayer, Scripture, and quiet devotion, the story unfolds as a moving blend of family drama, coastal suspense, and Christian charity. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.