# The Venetians — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for The Venetians by M. E. Braddon.

- [In the City by the Sea](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/i-in-the-city-by-the-sea.md): Jack Vansittart, a wealthy young Englishman, spends a Carnival day in Venice. He meets Lisa Vivanti and her aunt, la Zia, at a concert hall on the Lido and brings them back to Venice. They dine on macaroni at a modest re
- [Afterthoughts](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/ii-afterthoughts.md): Jack Vansittart reflects on the consequences of his fatal encounter in Venice, worrying about Fiordelisa's fate and his own safety. He lands in Marseilles, reads a newspaper account of the brawl, and resolves to conceal 
- [III: “Fairies!”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/iii-fairies.md): Nearly three years after the fatal night in Venice, Jack Vansittart spends Christmas at Redwold Towers with his mother and sister Maud, now married to Sir Hubert Hartley. The chapter explores Jack's lingering guilt over 
- [The Prelude to Some Brighter World](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/iv-the-prelude-to-some-brighter-world.md): At a ball, Vansittart seeks an introduction to Miss Marchant, using Mr. Tivett to facilitate the meeting. He dances with her and is captivated, while also fulfilling his social obligations to the Champernownes and Miss G
- [Teatime in Arcadia](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/v-teatime-in-arcadia.md): Vansittart, haunted by the memory of Eve Marchant, spends ten days searching for her after the ball at Mandelford. Unable to find her, he decides to call at the Homestead, where he finds the Marchant sisters at tea. The 
- [VI: Why Should He Refrain?](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/vi-why-should-he-refrain.md): Vansittart wrestles with the question of marrying Eve Marchant, weighing his love against his mother's expectations and Eve's social disadvantages. He observes Eve in her home environment, noting her grace and innocence,
- [He Would Take His Time](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/vii-he-would-take-his-time.md): Vansittart walks Eve and her younger sisters home, meeting Colonel Marchant for the first time. The Colonel is gruff and critical, and Vansittart learns of the family's financial disappointments. Despite his growing feel
- [VIII: A Face in the Crowd](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/viii-a-face-in-the-crowd.md): Vansittart, now at Merewood, spends five weeks hunting and avoiding the company his mother thrusts upon him, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of Eve Marchant and the recent events in Venice. He resists the urge to visi
- [IX: “Though Love, and Life, and Death Should Come and Go”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/ix-though-love-and-life-and-death-should-come-and-go.md): Vansittart receives a letter from Lisa (Fiordelisa) summoning him to her lodging. He visits her and la Zia in Stone Court, where they discuss the fatal night in Venice. Lisa promises not to betray him, and Vansittart vow
- [X: “As Things That Are Not Shall These Things Be”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/x-as-things-that-are-not-shall-these-things-be.md): Vansittart finds a flat for Lisa and her aunt near Cheyne Walk, furnishes it, and establishes them in London under the name 'Smith' to conceal his identity. He visits them, enjoys their gratitude, and promises to find a 
- [One Thread in Life Worth Spinning](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xi-one-thread-in-life-worth-spinning.md): Vansittart, feeling lighter-hearted than he has in a long time, travels to Haslemere to see Eve Marchant, hoping to confirm his love and propose marriage. He is determined to keep his Venetian secret, trusting Lisa and h
- [XII: “One Born to Love You, Sweet”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xii-one-born-to-love-you-sweet.md): Vansittart proposes to Eve, and she accepts. He writes to his mother about his engagement, while Eve expresses a desire to visit Italy, which troubles Vansittart due to his painful memories of Venice. The chapter also re
- [XIII: “The Time of Lovers Is Brief”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xiii-the-time-of-lovers-is-brief.md): Vansittart announces his engagement to Eve Marchant to his sister Maud and her husband Sir Hubert, who accept it with mixed feelings. Vansittart spends a blissful Easter week with Eve, exploring the countryside. His moth
- [XIV: As a Spirit from Dream to Dream](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xiv-as-a-spirit-from-dream-to-dream.md): Eve Marchant is taken to London by Lady Hartley to prepare for her wedding to John Vansittart. She experiences the luxuries of London society for the first time, while Vansittart is blissfully happy. Meanwhile, Vansittar
- [XV: “Love Should Be Absolute Love”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xv-love-should-be-absolute-love.md): Vansittart, after encountering Sefton on the Embankment, is deeply unsettled by the meeting and reflects on the danger of his alias and his relationship with Fiordelisa. He resolves to narrow his ties with the Venetians 
- [XVI: To Live Forgotten and Love Forlorn](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xvi-to-live-forgotten-and-love-forlorn.md): Vansittart resolves to marry Eve despite the dark secret of her brother's death, deciding to conceal the truth. He visits Sefton to investigate the evidence linking Harold to Fiordelisa's lover, and later meets with Lisa
- [XVII: “She Was More Fair Than Words Can Say”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xvii-she-was-more-fair-than-words-can-say.md): In this chapter, the engagement between Vansittart and Eve Marchant is in full bloom, with the couple enjoying the serene happiness of their seven-week engagement. Eve receives a lavish sapphire crescent brooch from Mr. 
- [The Shadow Passeth When the Tree Shall Fall](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xviii-the-shadow-passeth-when-the-tree-shall-fall.md): Eve and Jack Vansittart enjoy a blissful honeymoon in Cornwall, but their happiness is interrupted by a letter from Nancy revealing that Peggy is seriously ill. Fearing hereditary consumption, they rush to visit her.
- [XIX: “He Said, ‘She Has a Lovely Face’ ”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xix-he-said-she-has-a-lovely-face.md): In this chapter, Mr. Sefton, intrigued by Lisa Vivanti, seeks an introduction through Mr. Hawberk. Despite Hawberk's reluctance, he agrees to invite Sefton to a musical evening where Lisa sings. Sefton reflects on his pa
- [XX: Peggy’s Chance](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xx-peggy-s-chance.md): Eve and Vansittart take Peggy to Cannes for her health, hoping the southern climate will give her a chance. They enjoy the beauty of the Riviera, but Peggy's condition worsens, and Eve's grief deepens. Vansittart tries t
- [From the Evil to Come](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxi-from-the-evil-to-come.md): After the loss of their daughter Peggy and a newborn son, Eve and Vansittart retreat to Courmayeur for the summer, where Eve slowly recovers her health and spirits. They return to Hampshire in late autumn, where Eve's re
- [So Very Wilful](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxii-so-very-wilful.md): Lisa Vivanti, consumed by grief over Vansittart's rejection, refuses to eat or rise from her bed. Her aunt, la Zia, and the singing-master Zinco attempt to console her, with Zinco warning that her despair will ruin her v
- [The Little Rift](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxiii-the-little-rift.md): During the London season, Eve and Vansittart enjoy a whirlwind of social engagements. At a river lock, they encounter Signora Vivanti, an Italian singer who greets Vansittart with intimate familiarity, unsettling Eve and
- [XXIV: “Poor Kind Wild Eyes So Dashed with Light Quick Tears”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxiv-poor-kind-wild-eyes-so-dashed-with-light-quick-tears.md): Vansittart visits Lisa Vivanti to warn her about Wilfred Sefton's past, revealing that Sefton caused a girl's suicide. Lisa agrees to dismiss Sefton. They part, believing it may be final. Vansittart meets Sefton on the s
- [XXV: “And Every Gentle Passion Sick to Death”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxv-and-every-gentle-passion-sick-to-death.md): Mr. Sefton confronts Lisa about her lover, revealing his obsessive passion and her rejection. Meanwhile, Eve's jealousy over a letter from Lisa leads to a tense confrontation with her husband Jack, who destroys the lette
- [Closer and Closer Swam the Thundercloud](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxvi-closer-and-closer-swam-the-thundercloud.md): Eve and Vansittart reconcile after a quarrel, but her jealousy persists. Vansittart's secretive trips to the City worry Eve, though they are actually about his investments. Meanwhile, Sophy hopes to marry Mr. Sefton, who
- [XXVII: “Thou Mayst Be False and Yet I Know It Not”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxvii-thou-mayst-be-false-and-yet-i-know-it-not.md): Mr. Sefton confides in Sophy Marchant about his love for Signora Vivanti, knowing Sophy will eventually tell Eve. Sophy is devastated and reveals the affair to Eve, who becomes suspicious of her husband Vansittart. Eve w
- [XXVIII: In the Blue Chamber](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxviii-in-the-blue-chamber.md): Eve, driven by suspicion, visits Lisa Vivanti at her London apartment. Lisa reveals that Vansittart was only a benefactor, not her lover, and shows Eve a photograph of Paolo's dead father, which Eve recognizes as her bro
- [XXIX: 'Tis Not the Same Now, Never More Can Be](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxix-tis-not-the-same-now-never-more-can-be.md): Eve Marchant, now Mrs. Vansittart, is consumed by grief and guilt after learning that her husband Jack killed her brother Harold in a tavern brawl. She renounces Jack, believing she cannot live with the man who killed he
- [XXX: A Double Exile](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxx-a-double-exile.md): John Vansittart, in the aftermath of his separation from Eve, seeks refuge in the wilds of Mashonaland, where the primitive life of a hunter numbs his guilt and grief. Meanwhile, Eve, the weaker vessel, retreats to the s
- [XXXI: “Oh Tell Her, Brief Is Life, but Love Is Long”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxxi-oh-tell-her-brief-is-life-but-love-is-long.md): Eve travels through Europe with her sister Hetty, seeking distraction from her sorrow. She learns of Vansittart's continued exile in Africa and his mother's cold rejection. Meanwhile, Lisa Vivanti, now a successful Londo
- [A Scene of Light and Glory](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxxii-a-scene-of-light-and-glory.md): In the third spring after her separation from her husband, Eve Marchant, now gravely ill with consumption, travels to Venice with her devoted sister Hetty. Eve has long wished to visit the scene of her brother's death bu
- [XXXIII: “Both Together, He Her God, She His Idol”](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_venetians_se/chapters/xxxiii-both-together-he-her-god-she-his-idol.md): Eve Vansittart, now in Venice, seeks to uncover the details of her brother's fatal encounter at a café, learning from a photographer that the incident occurred at Florian's. She visits the cemetery at San Michele, prayin

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