Project Gutenberg 2019-05-12 Public domain in the USA. 149 Bellamy, Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Whitfield) 1837 1900 Bellamy, Elizabeth Whitfield Croom Croom, Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Whitfield) Ely's Automatic Housemaid Produced from The Black Cat magazine, December, 1899 Produced by Tim Lindell, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) "Ely's Automatic Housemaid" by Elizabeth W. Bellamy is a satirical science fiction story written in the late 19th century. The narrative centers around the character Harrison Ely, a mechanical genius who invents an automatic household servant designed to relieve families of domestic burdens. The book explores themes of modernity and the sometimes absurd consequences of technological advancements. The plot follows the protagonist who, frustrated by a series of incompetent cooks and housemaids, decides to invest in Ely's invention. Upon receiving two mechanical servants, dubbed “Juliana” and “Bridget,” the family eagerly sets them to work, only to find themselves dealing with unexpected chaos as the machines malfunction. As the automatons engage in unpredictable antics, such as fighting over a broom and refusing to follow tasks correctly, the narrative humorously examines human reliance on machines and the notion of progress in domestic life. Ultimately, the story raises questions about the potential pitfalls of technology, while underscoring the importance of human oversight in managing devices meant to enhance daily living. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 68.7 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Science fiction Short stories Housekeeping -- Fiction Robots -- Fiction Inventions -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Humour 49881 2025-06-23T15:05:19.825895 text/html 47054 2019-05-12T08:35:38 text/html 143073 2025-06-23T15:05:21.881915 application/epub+zip 141901 2025-06-23T15:05:20.303896 application/epub+zip 78444 2025-06-23T15:05:20.049900 application/epub+zip 177918 2025-06-23T15:05:23.241959 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 164843 2025-06-23T15:05:21.638944 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 106920 2022-09-27T00:06:29.756250 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 42350 2025-06-23T15:05:19.683898 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 42520 2019-05-12T08:35:34 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19917 2025-06-23T15:05:23.402918 application/rdf+xml 33120 2025-06-23T15:05:20.142863 image/jpeg 5024 2025-06-23T15:05:20.092907 image/jpeg 16769 2019-05-12T08:35:38 application/octet-stream application/zip 158203 2019-05-12T08:35:38 application/octet-stream application/zip 217063 2025-06-23T15:05:19.840934 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