When love dawns : or, Dark Magdalen by Adelaide Stirling
"When love dawns" by Adelaide Stirling is a novel written in the early 20th century. A romantic melodrama with mystery and Gothic overtones, it follows determined Magdalen Clyde and her impulsive stepsister Dolly as a secret marriage, a child heir, and a contested identity propel them from precarious London living into the dangers of rank, reputation, and a brooding Scottish estate. The opening of the novel introduces Magdalen and Dolly on the
brink of ruin until Dolly reveals documents proving she was secretly married to John Ogilvie, Earl of Barnysdale, and that her little boy Ronald is his legitimate heir. After the earl’s death, a cautious lawyer accepts the papers, the will confirms Dolly’s claims, and Ronald is recognized, though Dolly shuns public fuss and even refuses to view the body. A tense night out nearly becomes scandal when a drunken man calls “Doll,” but a stranger coolly cuts the lights and spirits the women away; later, Magdalen meets him again—Dick Lovell—now earning his bread in Fleet Street. Eager to leave London (and a distasteful creditor), they travel to Ardmore Castle across the Clyde, where a cold, neglected welcome, strange servant insolence, and a muttered slight against Ronald unsettle them. Magdalen’s vivid nightmare of a silent attacker heightens the unease, and Dolly clashes with the housekeeper over locked “Stratharden’s rooms,” hinting that power at Ardmore may not rest with its new chatelaine. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Stirling, Adelaide |
|---|---|
| Title | When love dawns : or, Dark Magdalen |
| Original Publication | New York: Street & Smith, 1900. |
| Series Title | Eagle series, no. 448 |
| Credits | Demian Katz and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (Images courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University.) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | American fiction -- 19th century |
| Subject | Dime novels |
| Subject | Romance fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78149 |
| Release Date | Mar 8, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 222 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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