Diotimos Library · Literary Fiction Collection · English Edition
The Keepers of the People
A Critical Edition of the 1898 Novel
Swipe or use the arrow keys.
English Edition · Branch 99 of 254
Chapter X · The Revolt of Althea · pp. 99–114
The Keepers of the People
p. 113“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking; and yet I don’t know,” said Althea, shrinking a little from his vehemence.
“There is no hurry; think again,” he said. “Should I see you every day?” she said.
“For a good deal of every day. I am lonely, and I should like you by my side” said Ralph Falcon.
“But you will have Agnes Freshington,” said Althea. “Ah, no: I see,” she added at the sight of his face.
“I sail six weeks to-morrow. In a month write to me yes, or no,” said Ralph Falcon.
“I will,” said Althea.
“Tell no one: not even Ruth.”
“No,” said Althea.
A week later Lord and Lady Lisdor came to town to be present at Ralph Falcon’s marriage. Althea was one of the bridesmaids: by far the most beautiful of them, indeed: and Lord Lisdor devoted himself to her. Lady Lisdor wore a heavy air through it all; and no bridal joy ruffled the impassive calm of Ralph Falcon’s face. Althea stood by Lady Lisdor on the steps of the house, as the carriage drove away to catch the train, and said softly, looking after them —
“Across the hills, and far away Beyond their utmost purple rim, And far into the dying day The happy Princess followed him.”
She paused a moment, and ended, “But I think — I think that you ought to have been the Princess, Ruth.”
Lady Lisdor flushed, and shivered; she gazed dreamily at the child; and a wonderful, soft fire flamed a moment in her eyes, and flickered out.
Socrates
Reading The Keepers of the People · Book I, Chapter X · The Revolt of Althea · Book I, Chapter X · The Revolt of Althea · pp. 99–114
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
Edgar Jepson’s The Keepers of the People begins as a late-Victorian lost-kingdom romance and becomes an unsettling political argument. Ralph Falcon moves from an English country house to the hidden state of Varandaleel, where laughter, secrecy, violence, education, and the duties of rulers are tested against one another.
Historical Text
The novel was first published in London in 1898 by C. Arthur Pearson. This reading text follows the owner-supplied critical edition, whose copy-text is the Methuen Colonial Library issue of the same year digitised by the Internet Archive. The supplied editorial note records the edition’s corrections, normalisations, limits, and unresolved textual risks.
About This Edition
This English Edition preserves the complete supplied text and apparatus: the introduction, reading guide, key words, plot outline, editorial note, both books and all thirty chapters, and the end notes. Its reader branches end at paragraph boundaries, with the original chapter structure and chapter page references mapped to the 1898 printing.
Rights
Edgar Jepson’s 1898 novel is in the public domain. The introduction, reader’s guide, key words, outline, editorial note, notes, editorial arrangement, and design of the supplied edition are © 2026 Diotimos Editions.