[Free eBook] The Reluctant Madonna by Marguerite Steen [Vintage 1920s Literary Novel]

The Reluctant Madonna by the late English author Marguerite Steen, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature whose works enjoyed a period of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, is her vintage standalone literary personal drama novel with f/m romantic elements, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ The Odyssey Press imprint.

This was originally published in 1929 by Cassell & Co.

The story takes place in London during the 1920s and explores tensions and expectations in an aristocratic woman’s personal and family life, as an isolated “perfect” wife estranged from her husband finds herself being targeted by her son’s ambitious love interest, a sometime artist’s model who sees an opportunity to secure her future when the mother becomes attached to painter commissioned to produce her portrait.

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[Free eBook] A Candle in the Sun by Marguerite Steen [Vintage 1960s Spain Literary Novel]

A Candle in the Sun by the late British author Marguerite Steen, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature whose works enjoyed a period of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, is her vintage literary fiction drama novel with f/m romantic elements, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ Odyssey imprint.

This was originally published in 1964 by Longmans, Green & Co Ltd.

This coming-of-age story is set in Granada, Spain, where the teenaged daughter of eccentric parents, both engaged in affairs with colourful characters, strives to find happiness and balance in an unsteady world, even as her turbulent experiences within her own friendship circle seem to parallel those of her elders.

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[Free eBook] Bell Timson by Marguerite Steen [Vintage 1940s Literary Novel]

Bell Timson by the late British author Marguerite Steen, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature whose works enjoyed a period of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, is her vintage standalone literary fiction novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ Odyssey imprint.

This was originally published in 1946 by Doubleday.

The story is set in London during the 1940s and explores family and personal drama themes, starring a divorced woman trying to provide for her children by entering employment as a masseuse for wealthy fashionable ladies, which in turn puts her in touch with someone who tempts her with a dangerous opportunity to achieve the financial security and better future prospects for her daughters she desires, by not entirely aboveboard means.

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[Free eBook] Matador by Marguerite Steen [Vintage 1930s Literary Novel]

Matador by the late British author Marguerite Steen, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature whose works enjoyed a period of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, is her vintage literary fiction family drama novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ Odyssey imprint.

This was originally published in 1934 by Victor Gollancz. The novel is set in Spain during the 1930s, and is a family/social drama with f/m romantic suspense elements.

The story focuses on the conflicts between a matador father and his three sons—one dutifully following in his famous bull-fighting father’s footsteps, the second a disabled outcast, and the third and favourite hiding a dark secret—as they clash in their life expectations, with the tensions coming to a head as a young woman who is betrothed to marry one son catches the eyes of both another son and their widower father, as well.

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[Free eBook] The One-Eyed Moon by Marguerite Steen [Vintage 1930s Literary Drama]

The One-Eyed Moon by the late British author Marguerite Steen, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature whose works enjoyed a period of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, is her vintage standalone literary fiction drama novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ Odyssey imprint.

This was originally published in 1935 by Victor Gollancz. The story takes place in Spain in the troubled years prior to the Spanish Civil War of the late 1930s (which officially started after this novel was originally written).

This is a mixed personal, family, and political drama where a man and his wife, their conflicts exacerbated by very different backgrounds, and their daughter play out their probable tragedy against the backdrop of the greater national turmoil.

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[Free eBook] The Marriage Will Not Take Place by Marguerite Steen [Vintage 1930s Literary Novel]

The Marriage Will Not Take Place by the late British author Marguerite Steen, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature whose works enjoyed a period of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, is her vintage standalone literary fiction novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ Odyssey imprint.

This was originally published in 1938 by Collins. The novel takes place in England in the 1930s, exploring then-contemporary changing notions about love and marriage via the lens of a family which is not quite prepared to let go of its youngest and favourite daughter, who has fallen head over heels in love and is about to get married… or is she?

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[Free eBook] Spider by Marguerite Steen [Vintage Literary Novel]

Spider by the late British author Marguerite Steen, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature whose works enjoyed a period of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, is her vintage literary fiction coming of age drama novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour’s The Odyssey Press imprint.

This was originally published in 1933 by Victor Gollancz. The story features a generational clash between a grandmother who has enshrined her late pianist and composer husband as a legend with herself at the forefront as his perfect muse, and a granddaughter who begins to question and think of challenging the family legend when it comes time to host the annual memorial festival.

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[Free eBook] When the Wind Blows by Marguerite Steen [Vintage Literary Novel]

When the Wind Blows by the late British author Marguerite Steen, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature whose works enjoyed a period of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, is her vintage standalone literary drama novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour’s The Odyssey Press imprint.

This was originally published in 1931 by Cassell and Company. This novel is set on a South Atlantic island, which has changed very little since missionaries have settled upon it to convert the locals in the late 19th century, even as the world beyond its shores has moved on to the post-WWI period.

The story is centred around the enduring spirit of a young woman growing up who is attuned to the island environment but a misfit to the settler community, whose harsh treatment by her parents and elders leads to troubles on the antiquated island, which is forever changed when she meets the passengers of a shipwreck from the modern outside world.

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[Free eBook] Duel in the Dark by Marguerite Steen [Vintage Literary Novel]

Duel in the Dark by the late British author Marguerite Steen, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature whose works enjoyed a period of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, is her vintage standalone literary drama novel with f/m romantic elements, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ The Odyssey Press imprint.

This was originally published in 1928 by Geoffrey Bles. The story is a period-contemporary literary romantic drama (may not end in HEA) featuring a cross-generational competition between two strong-willed theatre women. An older actress in ill health is in the care of her ambitious granddaughter, whose affections become divided when a handsome scriptwriter begins paying more attention to the once-famous star than her love-smitten grandchild, who begins plotting to secure his affections for herself, with results that may prove farcical… or tragic.

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[Free eBook] The Tower by Marguerite Steen [Vintage Literary Fiction]

The Tower by the late British author Marguerite Steen, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature whose works enjoyed a period of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, is her standalone vintage literary fiction novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ The Odyssey Press imprint.

This was originally published in 1959 by Collins. The story focuses on the dramatic tensions underlying domestic relationships and thwarted dreams, as a painter of artistic temperament is tempted by desperate family need to take a salaried day job which his wife recognizes he is unsuited for, and instead encourages him to take a foreign art commission which turns out to be an even more disastrous undertaking for them both.

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