English Literature books summary

Rawdon and his son meet John Sedley and Georgy.

Chapter 38 A Family in a small way

Jos Sedley goes to India, straight from Brussels, without meeting

anyone. He sends his parents a small sum of money, which is their chief

income. Amelia develops into a possessive mother and hurts her own mother

by suspecting that she wants her Georgy to be poisoned. Reverend Mr.

Binney, who offers to teach Georgy Latin, proposes marriage to Amelia,

which she turns down kindly. She refuses to send her son away to school and

creates havoc if he falls ill.

Dobbin writes frequently and sends numerous expensive gifts for

Georgy, Amelia, and her parents. Her parents are sorry about the fact that

she does not want to marry Dobbin. Georgy grows up to be pompous and proud

like his father. Sometimes, Dobbin’s sisters take Georgy out for a ride in

their carriage or to spend a day with the ladies. One day they inform

Amelia that Dobbin is about to marry Glorvina O’Dowd at Madras. Amelia

expresses a great deal of happiness at the news.

Chapter 39 A Cynical chapter

Lady Jane and Pitt pay a visit to Sir Pitt, soon after their wedding.

Sir Pitt’s condition is lamentable, so is the state of his house. Miss

Horrocks rules the entire home. Mrs. Bute Crawley, with her close eye on

Queen’s Crawley, catches Miss Horrocks red handed as she is trying to

steal. She brings along her husband and James to bear witness. While Miss

Horrocks is busy robbing, her father and a doctor try to murder Sir Pitt,

but Bute Crawley foils their plan and throws them out of Queen’s Crawley.

Chapters 40 & 41 In which Becky is recognized by the family and in

which Becky revisits the halls of her ancestors.

The news of the death of Sir Pitt makes his son Pitt secretly

delighted, as now he will be Sir Pitt Crawley with a seat in the

Parliament. He quickly communicates the news to Rawdon. Rawdon and Rebecca

rush to Queen’s Crawley, dressed correctly to the occasion, leaving little

Rawdon with Miss Briggs who has been living with them since Miss Crawley’s

demise.

Becky and Rawdon’s homecoming is warm. Pitt notices that marriage to

Becky has made Rawdon a better person. Pitt volunteers to pay for little

Rawdon’s education. Becky is touched by the goodness of Lady Jane. Knowing

that Pitt is at odds with Bute Crawley and his family, Becky gladly blames

Mrs. Bute Crawley for her marriage to Rawdon and their eventual falling out

of Miss Crawley’s favor.

Becky and Rawdon leave for London with many gifts from Lady Jane.

During their short stay Rebecca pleases everyone at the house, while Rawdon

misses his beloved son and keeps track of his activities back home.

Chapters 42 & 43 Which treats of the Osborne family and In which the

reader has to double the cape.

Maria Osborne is married to Fredrick Bullock, the greedy materialistic

man, and they are almost cut off from the family due to their social

superiority. Miss Jane leads a monotonous life with her tyrannical father.

One day, she meets Georgy and gifts him a gold watch and a chain. Her

father begins to flush up and tremble at the news.

Amelia writes to Dobbin wishing him and his wife all the best. It is

believed that, Dobbin will marry Glorvina, sister of Peggy O’Dowd, but he

is too involved with Amelia to even think about the match. So he is deeply

hurt to read Amelia’s letter, blessing the couple, and yearns to go back to

England. Soon, he receives his sister’s letter informing him that Amelia

may be marrying a Reverend Mr. Binney. With this knowledge, Dobbin rushes

to England.

Chapters 44 & 45 A roundabout chapter between London and Hampshire and

between Hampshire and London.

Becky is to take care of the renovation of the Great Gaunt House of

Sir Pitt. Sir Pitt comes for a short stay with them, during which Becky

impresses him with everything she does. Sir Pitt realizes that, Rawdon was

supposed to inherit the money that he has, and so helps him with small sums

every now and then. The frequent visits of men like Sir Pitt and Lord Styne

helps Becky to extract more credit, for the creditors believe that if she

stays in such rich company, she can surely return their debts. During this

time Rebecca gets more and more estranged from her son.

While Sir Pitt frequents Becky’s house, Rawdon and his son spend a

happy time with Lady Jane and her children, who they are very fond of. Sir

Pitt is elected as a Member of the Parliament. Becky dislikes Lady Jane for

being a simple and good woman. Becky also introduces Sir Pitt to Lord

Styne.

Chapter 46 Struggles and trials.

Amelia is too possessive to send Georgy to school, therefore she

teaches him at home. After one of the rides in the Dobbin’s carriage,

Georgy tells his mother that an old man had come to see him. Old Mr.

Osborne sends his attorney to get Georgy in his custody with the following

proposal: Amelia is to get a fair allowance, which will not be withdrawn,

even if she marries again. She will be allowed to see her son sometimes but

at her own residence. Amelia is furious at the attorney for bringing such a

proposal.

The monetary condition of the Sedley family goes from bad to worse.

Amelia has no money to gift Georgy on Christmas, so she sells one of the

exquisite shawls that Dobbin had sent for her from India. She buys new

clothes and books for Georgy from the money obtained. But her mother is

thoroughly disappointed. According to her, Amelia should not spend lavishly

on her son’s books and on providing him with other luxuries, when they

don’t have enough money to live. The main reasons for this poor financial

condition of the Sedleys are; the money sent by Jos does not arrive,

Amelia’s pension is insufficient, and Mr. Sedley’s business always incurs

losses.

Amelia soon begins to feel guilty for her selfishness. She knows that,

Georgy will be provided for in a better manner in his grandfather’s house.

She realizes that she cannot do very much for her son and is afraid that

she may have to part with him.

Chapter 47 Gaunt House

Tom Eaves, an inhabitant of Vanity Fair, tells the narrator about the

history of Lord Styne’s family. Lord Styne an extremely affluent man, has a

brief unhappy married life and due to a low- spirited wife, he is lured by

pleasures and merriment. His son George loses his mental balance due to a

disease that runs in their family and of which Lord Styne is petrified. To

escape his fears, he throws lavish balls and invites everyone. In spite of

all his notorious and immoral escapades, everyone belonging to the high

society attends his parties.

Chapter 48 In which the reader is introduced to the very best of

company.

Becky is rewarded with a chance to go to Court with Sir Pitt and Lady

Jane. She is dazzling in her best clothes and large diamonds which Sir Pitt

secretly gives her. Rawdon goes in his old shabby uniform, which is now too

tight for him. Becky therefore achieves her aim in life.

Lord Styne is a frequent visitor at Rebecca’s place, but he feels

uneasy in the presence of Miss Briggs. He asks Becky to send her away, but

Becky replies that she will not be able to do so, as she owes Miss Briggs

some money. Becky then quotes almost double the amount. Later, Lord Styne

sends her a check and an invitation for dinner. Rebecca buys Briggs a

beautiful, silk gown and pays Raggles and her coachman fifty pounds each to

silence them for sometime. The rest she keeps for herself.

Chapter 49 In which we enjoy three courses and a Dessert.

Lord Styne receives great opposition from his family, for wanting to

invite Rebecca Crawley for his party. His mother-in- law being Lady

Bareacres, this opposition is not surprising. Rebecca is eventually

invited. Though in the former part of the evening she is not very

successful, she enchants Lady Styne by singing sweetly for her.

Chapter 50 Contains a vulgar incident.

After a lot of pondering, Amelia decides to send Georgy to his

grandfather. At this decision, Mr. Osborne sends her a hundred pounds.

Georgy is excited to go to his new lavish home. After he is gone, Amelia is

sad and depressed. He comes often to meet her and on other days, she walks

up to his house and watches the window of his room.

Amelia still does not know that it is not Jos who has stopped sending

money, but it is her father who has already sold away Jos’s future

allowances for his unsuccessful businesses.

Chapter 51 In which a charade is acted which may or may not puzzle the

reader.

Becky gets more and more popular in the aristocratic circle. In a

party at Gaunt House, Becky participates in the charades. The audience is

spell bound with Becky’s performance. After the charade, Becky is placed at

a grand exclusive table, with all the distinguished guests, and eats out of

a gold plate.

At the end of the party, Becky leaves by carriage while Rawdon prefers to

walk. On the way, he is arrested on account of an unpaid debt.

Chapter 52 In which Lord Styne shows himself a most amiable light.

This chapter is a flashback. Due to the generosity of Lord Styne,

little Rawdon is sent to a very good school. His father misses him during

his absence and longs for him to return home on Saturdays. Rawdon’s

relationship with Becky is growing more and more estranged.

One day Lord Styne, in a conversation with Miss Briggs realizes that

Becky had told him a falsehood and taken double the amount she needed,

giving none of it to Miss Briggs. When he questions Becky about this, she

tells him another lie, where she puts the entire blame on Rawdon’s greed

and his constant bullying asking her to ask Styne for money.

Lady Jane warns Rawdon to keep an eye on Becky’s activities. Lord

Styne gives Miss Briggs a better place, that of a housekeeper at Gauntly

Hall. Rawdon orders Becky to refuse invitations, which are only for her and

where he is not on the guest list. Becky agrees and they live in each

other’s company and to Rawdon, this feels like the blissful days, just

after their marriage.

Chapter 53 A rescue and a catastrophe

Rawdon, who has been arrested, writes to Becky asking her to arrange

for a hundred pounds to bail him out (for he has only seventy pounds).

Becky writes a sympathetic letter, in, which she makes an excuse of her bad

health and puts off his rescue to the next day. A furious Rawdon sends a

letter to Sir Pitt asking for help. Lady Jane comes to his rescue.

Rawdon rushes home and is enraged to see Becky and Lord Styne spending

a great evening together. Becky is bedecked with numerous diamond trinkets,

which Lord Styne has presented to her. Rebecca is mortally scared on being

caught red handed. Rawdon strikes Lord Styne, who claims to have paid large

sums of money to his wife. Rawdon makes Becky open her secret drawer and

finds a thousand-pound note from Lord Styne. Becky only screams that she is

innocent. Rawdon, in a fit of rage, goes away.

Chapters 54 & 55 Sunday after the battle and in which the same subject

is pursued.

Fuming with anger, Rawdon goes over to Sir Pitt and informs him about

what has happened. He assures Pitt that he has come just to request him to

take care of his son whom he loves dearly.

Then he goes to Gaunt House and leaves his card for Lord Styne, expressing

his wish to meet him. He goes to Captain Macmurdo (Mac) and asks him for

help, which the latter gladly extends. Mac takes the responsibility of

returning Styne’s note back to him.

At Curzon Street, Becky’s maid robs her of all her jewelry and her

servants harass her for money. Now that they know that she is out of favor

of both Lord Styne and Rawdon, they are worried about their repayments.

Becky meets Sir Pitt and convinces him of her innocence by saying that she

was entertaining Lord Styne so that she could acquire a good employment for

Rawdon. Lady Jane is furious to see Becky in her house.

In the meanwhile, Rawdon is spending his time with Mac, when two

acquaintances inform him about his appointment as the Governor of Coventry

Island. He has obtained this position due to the patronage of Lord Styne.

Rawdon meets his emissary, Mr. Wenham. Styne’s emissary tries to prove to

Rawdon that Becky is innocent, but Rawdon refuses to believe him. Capt. Mac

hands over the note (given by Lord Styne to Becky) to Wenham and the ex-

col. accepts the job on the insistence of Mac and Sir Pitt. Sit Pitt

however, is unable to bring about a reconciliation between Becky and

Rawdon.

Rawdon fixes an annuity for his wife, writes regularly to his son and

sends Lady Jane all the possible goodies Coventry Island has to offer.

Rawdon also repays all his debts and takes Capt. Mac with him as his

secretary.

Chapter 56 Georgy is made Gentleman

Georgy lives with his grandfather, in great comfort and luxury. He has

the best of everything. Old Osborne is as proud of him as he was of his

dead son. He exceedingly pampers Georgy and the little boy playfully

bullies the entire household. He regularly comes to visit Amelia. One day,

while Georgy is taking lessons, Dobbin and Jos Sedley come to meet him.

Georgy instantly recognizes one to be Major Dobbin, about whom his mother

had always spoken to him.

Chapters 57 & 58 Eцthen and our friend the major.

Amelia’s mother dies. She now looks after her ill father with the help

of the money given by Old Mr. Osborne. Dobbin proceeds for England, but he

falls seriously ill. His peers wonder if he would survive. Jos Sedley is

traveling back

home on the same ship as Dobbin and, in one of his conversations, assures

Dobbin that Amelia has no plans of marrying. After this assurance Dobbin

begins to recover and becomes more and more excited at the prospect of

seeing Amelia.

Amelia is very happy to see Dobbin and talks to him in very buoyant

spirits about Georgy. He is greatly relieved to see Mrs. Binney (the wife

of the man whom he thought Amelia was marrying). Dobbin also informs them

of Jos’ arrival.

Chapter 59 The old Piano

While watching over the shifting of the Sedley household to a better

place, Dobbin tells Amelia that he is glad that she has still kept her old

piano. Amelia does not realize at first, but later it strikes her that,

perhaps it was not George but Dobbin who had sent it for her. She

apologizes to Dobbin for attributing the kind deed to her dead husband.

Dobbin tells her how much he loves her and has loved her since the

first time he saw her. She reminds him that George is and would always be

her husband. But at the same time, she requests Dobbin to be a friend to

both her and Georgy.

Chapters 60 & 61 Returns to the genteel world and In which two lights

are put out.

Amelia’s good fortune makes her friends happy for her. Georgy is very

fond of Dobbin, while there is no great attachment between Jos and Georgy.

Jos and Amelia become a part of the genteel society. Jos invites his

friends home for frequent parties and himself goes to Court.

John Sedley dies after a prolonged illness, during which he was loved

and cared for by Amelia. He too is very fond of Amelia in his last days,

even more than when she was a little girl. After Mr. Sedley’s death,

Osborne invites Jos to his house, saying that he has nothing against him.

Dobbin also implores Mr. Osborne to reconcile with Amelia and he agrees for

a meeting. Unfortunately, the old patriarch dies soon but he leaves half

his property to Georgy, an annuity of 500 pounds for Amelia and restores

Georgy to his mother. Dobbin too is left a sum, sufficient to buy him his

commission as Lieutenant Colonel. Affluent people from all quarters,

including the haughty Maria Bullock, (nee Osborne) come to pay a visit to

Mrs. Osborne owing to the knowledge of her newly acquired nobility. Jos,

Amelia, Georgy, and Dobbin plan a foreign trip.

Chapter 62 Am Rhein

Jos Sedley, Amelia, Georgy, and Dobbin leave for Pumpernickel for a

pleasure trip. They enjoy themselves and

most of all Amelia begins to brim with excitement and radiance of

happiness. Dobbin is glad to see her so. She sketches the beautiful

mountains and is enchanted by musical performances, which they attend.

Chapter 63 In which we meet an old acquaintance.

Lord Tapeworm, the heir and nephew of one of Major Dobbin’s late

Marshal, accompanies Jos and the rest of the party as their friend.

Tapeworm suggests a doctor for Jos to loose weight, who plans to stay and

get treatment. They move in aristocratic society and attend their

festivities.

One day, Georgy meets a mysterious woman at a gambling house, for whom

he plays and wins. Jos recognizes her to be Rebecca. Dobbin extracts a word

from Georgy that he will never gamble again.

Chapter 64 A vagabond chapter.

After separating from Rawdon, Becky is left with a bad reputation,

which compels her to leave the country. Before quitting England, she writes

to little Rawdon, to which he replies as per his duty. First she goes to

Bologne. Soon she feels the pangs of loneliness. She is driven out of the

hotel in which she lives, as she is deemed unfit to stay there.

Every time Becky makes her little circle of friends, some past

acquaintance pours cold water on her efforts. She begins again from square

one. She realizes that Amelia and the other people she knew are kind

people. Bored of all her show of being a respectable lady, she throws all

her guard and her taste for low life grows more remarkable. She travels all

over Europe and mingles with coarse men. At Rome, she finds Lord Steyne at

a ball and hopes to reestablish their acquaintance, but a warning from his

confidential man forces her to flee to save her life, as Steyne is livid

about his confrontation with Rawdon.

The news comes later, that Lord Steyne has died is Naples, due to a

series of fits, as a result of the downfall of French Monarchy at the

French Revolution.

Chapter 65 Full of business and pleasure.

Jos goes to see Becky at her dingy room in the ‘Elephant’ Hotel. Becky

succeeds in winning his favor and tells him the saddest story of her life,

which is absolutely false. Jos, much affected, reports about her condition

to Dobbin and Amelia. Initially, Amelia is unmoved, but as soon as she

learns that Becky’s son was torn from her arms, she instantly leaves to see

her dear friend. Becky watches Amelia and Dobbin approach, yet pretends to

give a shriek the moment she sees them at her door.

Chapter 66 Amantium Irae

In spite of repeated polite warnings from Dobbin, Amelia and Jos are

determined to bring Becky home with them. Dobbin is opposed to this view

because he overhears the two boys with whom she comes from Leipzig, talk

very lightly about her. Dobbin is the only one who can see through all of

Becky’s pretensions. Finally, Dobbin tries to remind Amelia of Becky’s

behavior with George, before the battle. This infuriates her and she

refuses to see Dobbin anymore. Dobbin too, angry with her for the first

time, admits to himself as well as her that, she is and never was worth all

the devotion he has given her, and he leaves, never to return. Georgy is

very sad to hear that Dobbin is leaving. When he goes to bid Dobbin

goodbye, Becky sends him a note imploring upon him to stay, which Dobbin

tears in spite.

Chapter 67 Which contains births, marriages, and deaths

While Amelia is silent and depressed due to her behavior towards

Dobbin, Becky takes charge of the house. She becomes popular in society

because of her wit and talents. The news of Dobbin re-joining the service

arrives. The party (Amelia, Becky, Jos and Georgy) moves to Ostend on Jos’

health grounds. Becky has many low acquaintances there, who forcefully

impose themselves upon her and pay tipsy comments on Amelia. Amelia yearns

to go back, but Jos cannot discontinue his treatment. Amelia writes to

Dobbin. When Becky’s luggage arrives from Leipzig, she impresses Jos by

showing him his portrait, which she has preserved, and the letter, asking

Becky to elope, which George had written to her and given her at the ball

just before the war. Amelia is even more determined to marry Dobbin and she

does. Becky roots her anchor on Jos and follows him wherever he goes. After

his marriage to Amelia, Dobbin leaves the service and they live in

Hampshire, close to Queen’s Crawley. Lady Jane and Amelia become great

friends and Georgy and Rawdon study together and both fall in love with

Lady Jane’s daughter. Dobbin and Amelia have a daughter who is named after

her godmother Lady Jane.

Jos Sedley dies, leaving half of his money to Mrs. Crawley, who is

suspected as the cause of his death. Col. Rawdon Crawley dies of yellow

fever in Coventry Island, six weeks before the death of Sir Pitt. As Sir

Pitt’s son had died in infancy, Rawdon is made the next Baronet. He makes

his mother a liberal allowance but does not meet her. Becky calls herself

Lady Crawley and becomes engaged in charity activities.

William Shakespeare

Extremely Short Summaries. Good for Seminars

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Act I: Theseus, Duke of Athens, is preparing to marry Hippolyta in his

palace. He is solving a dispute between Egeus (who wants his daughter,

Hermia, to marry Demetrius) and Lysander, who has Hermia's love. Theseus

declares that Hermia must marry D emetrius as the law specifies, or marry

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