Project Gutenberg 2009-03-31 Public domain in the USA. 322 Anstey, F. 1856 1934 Guthrie, Thomas Anstey In Brief Authority Produced by David Clarke, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) "In Brief Authority" by F. Anstey is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story follows Mrs. Sidney Wibberley-Stimpson and her family as they are unexpectedly invited to play royal parts in a local pageant, which takes a fantastical turn, leading them to the magical realm of Märchenland. The narrative is rich in social commentary, primarily through the character of Mrs. Stimpson, who navigates her newfound status with eagerness and trepidation. The opening of the novel introduces Mrs. Stimpson, who is home alone when she receives an unexpected visit from Lady Harriet Elmslie. Initially flustered, Mrs. Stimpson adjusts her demeanor and puts on a display of superficial cordiality. As tea is served, she rambles on about her family, particularly her daughter's accomplishments and their business background, all while fumbling to understand the true nature of her visitor's intentions. Lady Harriet’s purpose soon comes to light, focusing on a mundane inquiry about a former servant's character, which Mrs. Stimpson misinterprets as an opportunity for greater social engagement, paving the way for a series of comedic misadventures that ensue. The interaction sets the tone for the unfolding story, filled with humor, social pretensions, and a touch of absurdity. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 80.4 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Fiction PR Text Humor Browsing: Humour Browsing: Literature Browsing: Fiction Category: Humour Category: Novels Category: British Literature 709417 2025-06-11T16:25:58.453680 text/html 718366 2009-03-31T03:56:28 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 266671 2009-03-31T03:56:28 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 341867 2025-06-11T16:26:09.460600 application/epub+zip 350671 2025-06-11T16:26:01.063635 application/epub+zip 350672 2025-06-11T16:25:59.521611 application/epub+zip 628733 2025-06-11T16:26:16.017626 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 588799 2025-06-11T16:26:08.376629 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 567411 2022-09-13T09:11:26.391350 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 678076 2025-06-11T16:25:56.577649 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 677757 2009-03-31T03:56:28 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 260171 2009-03-31T03:56:28 text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 677889 2009-03-31T03:56:28 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 260057 2009-03-31T03:56:28 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 20847 2025-06-11T16:26:16.175531 application/rdf+xml 12084 2025-06-11T16:26:00.100623 image/jpeg 3345 2025-06-11T16:25:59.811641 image/jpeg 330212 2025-06-11T16:25:58.522631 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia