Sign-In
Cart
Nobody's Girl (En Famille): New Translation
Paperback
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Jul 19 2025
Pages: 344
Weight: 0.92
Height: 0.86 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Nobody's Girl (originally En Famille in French) is an 1893 novel by French author Hector Malot, serving as a companion to his more famous work Sans Famille (Nobody's Boy). The novel tells the story of Perrine Paindavoine, a young girl who faces hardship and poverty after being orphaned. The story follows Perrine as she travels with her sick mother from India to France, hoping to find refuge with her paternal grandfather. When her mother dies during the journey, Perrine arrives in the industrial town of Maraucourt alone and penniless. Unrecognized by her wealthy but stern grandfather, who owns a jute factory, she must work as a common laborer while concealing her true identity. The novel chronicles her struggles with poverty, her determination to survive, and her gradual efforts to win her grandfather's affection without revealing who she is.
Throughout this narrative, Malot explores several significant themes common to 19th-century literature, including social class divisions, the dignity of honest work, the importance of perseverance, and family reconciliation. The author examines the harsh realities of industrial working conditions while advocating for compassion across class lines, and the story emphasizes the value of education and self-improvement as paths to social mobility. Like much of Malot's work, Nobody's Girl belongs to the tradition of French social realist literature for young readers. Written during France's rapid industrialization, it reflects contemporary concerns about urban poverty and working conditions. The novel shares characteristics with other orphan narratives of the period, though it focuses specifically on the experiences of a young woman navigating a male-dominated industrial world. While perhaps less widely known today than Sans Famille, the novel offers valuable insights into 19th-century attitudes toward gender, class, and social responsibility, making it both an engaging story and an important historical document of its era.
Also from
Dufis, Aurland
The Whites and the Blues: Book I (The Prussians on the Rhine): A New Translation
Dumas, Alexandre
Paperback
The Whites and the Blues: Book III (Le 18 Fructidor & The Eighth Crusade): A New Translation
Dumas, Alexandre
Paperback
Also in
Fiction Anthologies
On Quality: An Inquiry Into Excellence: Unpublished and Selected Writings
Pirsig, Wendy K.
Pirsig, Robert M.
Hardcover
James Weldon Johnson: Writings (Loa #145): The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man / Along This Way / Essays and Editorials / Selected Poems
Johnson, James Weldon
Hardcover
Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Stoker, Bram
Shelley, Mary
Paperback
Sez I to Myself: The Collected Essays of Frank and Malachy McCourt
McCourt, Frank
McCourt, Malachy
Hardcover
Here in New England: Unforgettable Stories of People, Places, and Memories That Connect Us All.
Allen, Mel
Paperback
The Greek Tragedies: Seventeen Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Paperback
Learn Russian with Beginner Stories: Interlinear Russian to English
Hyplern, Bermuda Word
Gettys, Serafima
Van Den End, Kees
Paperback
The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings: Poems, Tales, Essays, and Reviews
Poe, Edgar Allan
Hardcover
Obvious Adams -- The Story of a Successful Businessman: New Business Edition
Updegraff, Robert R.
Paperback
Bookin' in the Big House: What I Learned Leading a Women's Prison Book Club
Devoto, Pat Cunningham
Paperback
Japanese Folktales for Language Learners: Bilingual Legends and Fables in Japanese and English (Free Online Audio Recording)
Sato, Eriko
Sato, Anna
Paperback
The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, volume 1
Fager, Anders
Cubas, Cristina Fernández
Pedraza, Pilar
Paperback
The Serpent Mound, Adams County, Ohio (Facsimile Reprint)
Randall, Emilius Oviatt
Randall, E. O.
Paperback