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The Passionate Elopement

Compton Mackenzie

The Passionate Elopement

Paper book: €53.99

Digital: €14.99

Original publication
1911
Bilingual edition
12 June 2026
Pages
867
Difficulty
Medium
Genres
Romance, Adventure
Moods
Fall in love, Escape it all
Translated from
English

Book summary

In the eighteenth century, in an English spa town, people spend their days between the baths, the balls and the card tables. Young Phyllida is courted by Francis Vernon, a gambler buried in debt who talks of running away with her, while a young poet is also trying to win her. But Phyllida's mother does not want to see her married.

A witty comedy of manners, Compton Mackenzie's first novel, full of the charm of powdered wigs and the balls of long ago.

Its light tone and humour make it an enjoyable read in the language you are learning.

The plot

A poem falls from a balcony. In an English spa town, it is the morning of Valentine’s Day. On her balcony, young Phyllida Courteen writes a little poem in a letter. The letter falls into the lace of a passer-by’s…

The world of the book

An 18th-century spa town. In the 18th century, wealthy English people spend weeks in spa towns such as Bath. In the morning, they drink the spring water for their health. In the evening, they go to balls, as in this…

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