Not Pretty, but Precious

In Short

Not Pretty, but Precious is an 1872 anthology of American short fiction featuring works by authors such as John Hay, Margaret Hosmer, Clara F. Guernsey, and Harriet Prescott Spofford. Ranging from domestic drama and romantic entanglement to horror, historical mystery, and high-seas ghost lore, these stories explore how hidden secrets, impulsive choices, and unheeded pasts shape human destiny. The collection has endured as a vivid slice of nineteenth-century popular storytelling, capturing the era's fascination with moral dilemmas, gothic atmosphere, regional character, and the subtle, unpredictable forces that govern daily life.

The Story

The anthology gathers eleven distinct narratives, each opening a window into a different corner of nineteenth-century American imagination. It begins with "Not Pretty, but Precious," where a recovering invalid named Ross Norval negotiates the complex emotional terrain of his marriage to Percy, a clever woman who deftly uses her wit to clear his life of embarrassing social entanglements. Though Ross offers gentle, patient affection, Percy remains guarded, carrying the painful weight of her past and her lingering obligations to her family and early suitors.

Romantic and social intrigue continue in "The Victims of Dreams," as two young women, Winnie and Bessie, navigate the rigid religious piety of their guardians, whose nightly "visions" and theological debates thinly cloak arbitrary family control. The domestic sphere gives way to eerie mystery in "The Cold Hand," where two sisters move into an old home shadowed by rumors of a mysterious death; upon unearthing a forgotten nineteenth-century journal, they learn of an elusive murderer tormented by a soft, wet, clinging touch that refused to leave his side.

Gothic tension builds into melodrama and tragedy across the central tales. In "The Blood Seedling," broken engagements and lingering affections end in quiet reconciliation under May stars, while "The Marquis" unleashes a roaring, apocalyptic tornado across a rural landscape, where a desperate colonel and a courageous young man race against time and shattered trees to save the woman they love. Moving into elite society, "Under False Colors" tracks the tragic decline of Clement Rutherford’s new bride, a woman trapped between a dark, hidden past and the gilded superficiality of New York high society, ending in a desperate act of poison that society quickly labels an accident and forgets.

The collection's final movements turn toward betrayal, survival, and supernatural folklore. In "The Hungry Heart," a dying, remorseful woman travels to the coast to reunite with the lover she was forced to deceive, even as her blackmailer draws near. "How Mother Did It" offers lighthearted satire as a young wife uses clever, loud tactics to cure her husband of his constant, irritating comparisons to his late mother. "The Red Fox" depicts an intimate conversation with an elderly Indigenous guest over embroidery patterns, contemplating grief and damaged rifles, while "Louie" tells the poignant story of a fisherman’s daughter who believes her broken heart has gone completely numb after her lover is enticed away by wealth. Finally, "Old Sadler’s Resurrection" closes the volume on a naval legend, untangling the humorous mystery of an apparent ghost bobbing in the sea, which turns out to be nothing more than a buoyant hammock floating in hot ocean waters.

How It Unfolds

An invalid seeks clarity A recovering patient named Ross Norval receives a written communication from his wife, Percy, who uses her sharp diplomacy to dismiss an unwanted social intruder from his bedside. Despite her devotion and resourcefulness, Percy remains distant, guarding the painful memories of her youth and former loves.

Dreams dictate family life In a strict household, two young women plan their futures while their guardians interpret religious texts and elaborate dreams. Beneath the guise of spiritual guidance, the girls attempt to protect each other from forced marriages and heavy-handed domestic authority.

A haunting comes to light Sisters moving into an old residence discover a long-hidden diary detailing the desperate journal entries of a man pursued by a physical, lingering presence after a violent crime. The terrifying text forces the sisters to take their findings directly to the local minister.

Reconciliation under the stars Susie Barringer breaks off her engagement with a flashy suitor and finds quiet comfort in the steady presence of her former lover, Allen Golyer. Their rekindled affection grows through simple, late-night games of checkers in the May moonlight.

A storm sweeps the countryside A sudden, violent tornado rips through the woods, uprooting trees and crushing everything in its path. Colonel Miller and a youth known as the marquis race through falling timber in a frantic effort to save Alice from destruction.

A high-society tragedy Following a rapid summer courtship at Newport, Clement Rutherford marries Miss Nugent, unaware of her troubled history. Overwhelmed by the threat of exposure, she drinks a fatal dose of morphia, leaving society to move on to its next social dance.

An escape to the coast A woman suffering from a fatal lung condition flees her indifferent husband to spend her final months with her true love, Leighton. Her brief peace is threatened when her former blackmailer demands another meeting in Portland.

Breaking an old habit Tired of her husband's endless comparisons to his mother's traditional ways, Lulie retaliates by ringing a heavy bell at dawn. The noisy stunt successfully cures him of his rigid expectations.

A guest by the hearth An elderly Indigenous man named the Panther visits a quiet home, sharing thoughts on loss while admiring embroidery patterns. Before resting by the kitchen fire, he discovers his rifle lock has been broken during a stop at a local tavern.

A heart presumed dead Louie recovers from a severe illness only to feel completely detached from life after her former fiancé, Andrew, falls for a wealthy woman. Her quiet sorrow is compounded when her fisherman father is brought home drowned.

A ghost in the water Sailors are terrified by the floating, grinning figure of old Sadler standing upright in the sea. A quick puncture from a boarding-pike releases trapped air from a white hammock, instantly solving the supernatural mystery.

The People

• Ross Norval wants a deep, authentic emotional connection with his wife, Percy, but stands in the way of his own happiness through his past follies and insecurities. Though he remains patient and gentle, he learns to accept her guarded nature, contenting himself with whatever affection she can offer.
• Percy Norval desires peace and protection from her past mistakes, but her early life with overbearing family members and persistent suitors stands in her way. She handles crises with sharp wit, ending up resigned to her complex, restrained affection for Ross.
• Clement Rutherford seeks a quiet, beautiful wife to fill his wealthy life, oblivious to the motives or histories of those around him. His aloofness blinds him to his wife's secrets, leaving him entirely unaware of the tragic truth behind her death.
• Mrs. Rutherford (Miss Nugent) wants respectability, luxury, and relief from a dark, degraded past, but her former life constantly threatens to catch up with her. Unable to face poverty or exposure, she ends up taking her own life in her gilded room.
• Louie desires the return of her simple, lost happiness with Andrew, but his ambition and engagement to a wealthier woman stand in her way. After a severe illness and the death of her father, she ends up numb and listless, clinging privately to an old blurred photograph.

In Its Own Voice

"I am unused to falsehood, and finesse of any sort is distasteful to me. I quenched this woman this time, but, in spite of her bad, hard face, I pity her very much."

Percy reflects bitterly after using her cleverness to turn away an unwelcome visitor from her sick husband's room.

"To-day it put out its hand: the soft wet fingers touched me. I will go out into the world, I will go out into the world. I will help those who are sick and in misery."

An old, hidden journal records the escalating madness and terror of a killer haunted by a supernatural touch.

"A cloudy demon, towering high as the heavens, in whose path nothing could live, was striding near and nearer."

The narrator captures the immense, destructive power of a sudden tornado bearing down on the countryside.

What It's Really About

Beneath its varied plots, the collection explores how individuals attempt to escape their pasts and the social expectations forced upon them. It questions the illusion of domestic tranquility, showing how quiet homes, respectable marriages, and pious families often conceal hidden grief, coercion, and moral compromises. The stories repeatedly examine the gap between public perception and private reality: a society host's suicide is dismissed as an accident, a ghost is revealed as compressed air, and rigid religious piety is used to manipulate young lives. Ultimately, the book argues that true character is revealed not through outward appearances, but through how one handles loss, temptation, and the unexpected storms of life.

Why Read It Today

This collection will appeal to lovers of nineteenth-century American literature, gothic mystery, and character-driven domestic drama. Reading it feels like flipping through an illustrated nineteenth-century literary magazine: rich with regional atmosphere, dramatic turns, and sudden shifts from quiet rooms to roaring storms. The prose moves fluidly between light satirical dialogue and dark, atmospheric suspense.

Readers should be prepared for period stylistic choices, including melodrama, leisurely pacing, and occasional representations of nineteenth-century dialect and racial attitudes—such as the romanticized, broken phrasing used for the Indigenous character in "The Red Fox." However, these historical realities offer a genuine window into the popular taste of 1872. What stays with you is the book's varied emotional landscape: the haunting dread of a murderer's diary, the sudden terror of a rural tornado, and the quiet, persistent resilience of women navigating love and loss in a world that rarely consults them.