My Lady Valentine by Octavia Roberts
"My Lady Valentine" by Octavia Roberts is a novel written in the early 20th century. It follows Caleb Whitman, a skeptical young magazine editor determined to deflate “story-book” love, whose curiosity about a pseudonymous valentine poet draws him to a quiet lakeside village and into the orbit of Nancy Rose, a sheltered niece living under a stern aunt. As Caleb’s head-first creed collides with genuine feeling, the story blends small-town life, secret
correspondence, and a gently unfolding romance. The opening of the novel shows Caleb railing against romantic clichés while preparing a Valentine issue, then receiving a winsome poem signed “Henry B. Luffkin” from Deep Harbor; he bets his friend Radding the writer is really a girl. After an exchange of letters (and a pair of knitted wristlets), conflicting clues spur Caleb to travel to Deep Harbor, where he boards with Captain Luffkin and Sister Abby, discovers a deserted garden bower at the stately Lowell place, and meets Nancy Rose, Miss Roxana Lowell’s closely guarded niece. Their secret talks—about his “sane” love story, love names, and the Song of Songs—soften his resolve, and he abandons his anti-romance plot. On the ferry he finds Nancy distressed and learns of her dream of a “Great Happiness,” while the Captain suspects a dashing soldier’s interest. When Nancy (still writing under the Luffkin alias) begs the New York editor to help her raise fifty dollars by selling family trinkets, Caleb enlists Radding to pose as a buyer and send the money. The section closes with Aunt Roxana steering Caleb through the family graves, Nancy’s movements tightly managed, and a telltale letter awaiting in the post office—keeping the mystery and budding romance in motion. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Roberts, Octavia, 1875-1972 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 17029519 |
| Title | My Lady Valentine |
| Original Publication | Boston: The A.M. Davis Co., 1916. |
| Credits | Susan E., David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Manners and customs -- Fiction |
| Subject | New York (State) -- Social life and customs -- Fiction |
| Subject | Man-woman relationships -- New York (State) -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78169 |
| Release Date | Mar 11, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 143 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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