The Carved Cupboard
By Amy Le Feuvre (1899)
Turned out of their late aunt's London residence, the four Dane sisters resolve to rent a cottage in the country, where they expect to live quietly together. Before their departure from London, Nanny, their dear old nurse, gave each one a verse from Psalm 37 to live out. Will they heed the wisdom of the verses?
The house that the Danes rent possesses a very strange secret. A dispute between brothers, and accusations of ill-intent have cast a dark cloud over the Lesters. Significant, it seems, is the ornately carved cupboard standing in the house Tom Lester has let to the Danes. What great secret does the cupboard contain?
Join these four young ladies on their respective journeys. As Agatha strives to "trust in the Lord, and do good", will she be provided for? Will self-willed Gwen learn to commit her way unto the Lord in the dark aftermath of self-will? Will moody, discontented Clare find the true Source of "rest" and contentment in her deep sorrow? Will sunny-tempered, joyful Elfie receive the desires of her heart?
What is the secret of the Carved Cupboard?
Character Lessons:
Trust in the Lord, Contentment, Joyfulness, Humility, Prayer, Seeking God, a Personal Relationship with Christ.
Element for Parental Consideration:
At first, the girls (except Agatha) tend toward irreverence in regards to spiritual things (part of their character arcs); an opinion is voiced that religion is good in a woman as long as she keeps it to herself, but not a man, since it would soon be knocked out of him (person who voices this opinion later admits it to be wrong, and comes to Christ); "gay"= happy; "queer"= odd; "ass"="foolish or stupid person"; Gwen thinks a girl "a simple, stupid little thing"; some talk of a supposed murder (that never happened); Spoiler: Clare's fiancé is presumed dead for several months, but it turns out that he was wounded and captured, and he later returns; Hugh and Clare are referred to as "lovers", but that had a different definition then than it does now; some hand-holding and blushing (not-detailed); it is mentioned that Agatha's fiancé died (before the story begins); Elfie and Gwen are engaged before the story's close; the vicar's sister is a sharp-tongue gossip, and often says rude and obnoxiously blunt things, including accusing Gwen of going abroad to "catch a husband" since there were none to be found at home (untrue, of course); a couple eccentric older ladies say that Gwen is "a Christian" and that she wouldn't marry a heathen who "keeps wives by the score and eats them by turns" (when they hear that she is going out to California--such a heathen land?!?); a joking mention that the cupboard might contain headless women.
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