Underlying book story — recording-specific coverage unverified
Coverage is limited to the scope described in this write-up. Recording changes, further installments or an unwritten ending may remain outside it.
This synopsis covers the underlying book linked to this recording: Cricket on the Hearth. Recording-specific abridgements, added material or adaptation changes have not been verified.
John Peerybingle, a slow but honest carrier, lives contentedly with his beloved wife Dot and their infant son. A teenage nursemaid, Tilly Slowboy, provides intermittent help with the child. Dot is still an attractive young woman, much younger than her husband, but she loves him dearly and is perfectly content with her life and her home. A cricket chirps cheerfully on the hearth, reflecting the family's happiness.
One night, John gives a lift in his cart to a mysterious elderly stranger who invites himself to lodge with the family for a few days. John is surprised at the alacrity with which Dot agrees.
The Peerybingles are friends with Caleb Plummer, a poor toymaker who lives with his blind daughter Bertha. Caleb is employed by the stern and ill-natured toy merchant Tackleton who announces that he intends to marry one of Dot's old schoolfriends, May Fielding. Some years earlier, May had been the sweetheart of Caleb's son, Edward, before his presumed death in South America, but now with few prospects May has little option but to concede to her mother's insistence that she should marry the wealthy Tackleton.
Tackleton draws John's attention to an assignation between Dot and the lodger, and they watch unobserved through a window as the lodger, now seen to be a young man in disguise, clasps Dot around the waist. John is devastated at his wife's betrayal, and that night as he sits before the fire he contemplates murdering the young man. Suddenly, the cricket on the hearth begins to chirp, and in fairy shape shows John visions of his wife's history from her school days onwards, always emphasising her goodness and loyalty. After a sleepless night, John's desire for revenge fades, and he convinces himself that Dot could never have been truly happy with him, and that he must for her own sake release her from her marriage vows.
But before John can say anything, the mysterious lodger is revealed to be Caleb's son, Edward, who has unexpectedly returned. Having heard that May was to marry Tackleton, he disguised himself as an old man in order to discover whether his former sweetheart had forgotten him. Dot recognised him straight away, and fell in with the deception for fear that her honest but clumsy husband might accidentally tip-off Tackleton, allowing him to wed May quickly before anybody had a chance to prevent him. Now, all is revealed and Edward marries May himself. Dot has never been unfaithful to John, and she reminds him that she loves him with all her heart.
Initially peeved at having missed the opportunity to marry May, Tackleton relents and sends gifts to the happy couple. That evening he joins the wedding dance, and the cricket on the hearth joins in with its own chirps.
John Peerybingle, a slow but honest carrier, lives contentedly with his beloved wife Dot and their infant son. A teenage nursemaid, Tilly Slowboy, provides intermittent help with the child. Dot is still an attractive young woman, much younger than her husband, but she loves him dearly and is perfectly content with her life and her home. A cricket chirps cheerfully on the hearth, reflecting the family's happiness.
One night, John gives a lift in his cart to a mysterious elderly stranger who invites himself to lodge with the family for a few days. John is surprised at the alacrity with which Dot agrees.
The Peerybingles are friends with Caleb Plummer, a poor toymaker who lives with his blind daughter Bertha. Caleb is employed by the stern and ill-natured toy merchant Tackleton who announces that he intends to marry one of Dot's old schoolfriends, May Fielding. Some years earlier, May had been the sweetheart of Caleb's son, Edward, before his presumed death in South America, but now with few prospects May has little option but to concede to her mother's insistence that she should marry the wealthy Tackleton.
Tackleton draws John's attention to an assignation between Dot and the lodger, and they watch unobserved through a window as the lodger, now seen to be a young man in disguise, clasps Dot around the waist. John is devastated at his wife's betrayal, and that night as he sits before the fire he contemplates murdering the young man. Suddenly, the cricket on the hearth begins to chirp, and in fairy shape shows John visions of his wife's history from her school days onwards, always emphasising her goodness and loyalty. After a sleepless night, John's desire for revenge fades, and he convinces himself that Dot could never have been truly happy with him, and that he must for her own sake release her from her marriage vows.
But before John can say anything, the mysterious lodger is revealed to be Caleb's son, Edward, who has unexpectedly returned. Having heard that May was to marry Tackleton, he disguised himself as an old man in order to discover whether his former sweetheart had forgotten him. Dot recognised him straight away, and fell in with the deception for fear that her honest but clumsy husband might accidentally tip-off Tackleton, allowing him to wed May quickly before anybody had a chance to prevent him. Now, all is revealed and Edward marries May himself. Dot has never been unfaithful to John, and she reminds him that she loves him with all her heart.
Initially peeved at having missed the opportunity to marry May, Tackleton relents and sends gifts to the happy couple. That evening he joins the wedding dance, and the cricket on the hearth joins in with its own chirps.
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Underlying book identified by the catalog’s explicit book_slug relation. Exact source annotation 990. Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, The Cricket on the Hearth. Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license