Chapter 1
“I am afraid you will find no surgeon at hand here, but I dare say we shall do very well without him.” Mr. Heywood
“One is never able to complete anything in the way of business, you know, till the carriage is at the door.” Mr. Parker
“A little of our own bracing sea air will soon set me on my feet again. Depend upon it, my dear, it is exactly a case for the sea. Saline air and immersion will be the very thing. My sensations tell me so already.” Mr. Parker
“But Sanditon itself — everybody has heard of Sanditon. The favourite — for a young and rising bathing-place — certainly the favourite spot of all that are to be found along the coast of Sussex; the most favoured by nature, and promising to be the most chosen by man.” Mr. Parker
“Every five years, one hears of some new place or other starting up by the sea and growing the fashion. How they can half of them be filled is the wonder! Where people can be found with money and time to go to them! Bad things for a country — sure to raise the of provisions and make the poor good for nothing.” Mr. Heywood
“Such a place as Sanditon, sir, I may say was wanted, was called for. Nature had marked it out, had spoken in most intelligible characters. The finest, purest sea breeze on the coast — acknowledged to be so — excellent bathing — fine hard sand — deep water ten yards from the shore — no mud — no weeds — no slimy rocks. Never was there a place more palpably designed by nature for the resort of the invalid — the very spot which thousands seemed in need of!” Mr. Parker
Chapter 2
By such he (Mr. Parker) was perceived to be an enthusiast — on the subject of Sanditon, a complete enthusiast. Sanditon, the success of Sanditon as a small, fashionable bathing place, was the object for which he seemed to live. The Narrator
Mrs. Parker was as evidently a gentle, amiable, sweet-tempered woman, the properest wife in the world for a man of strong understanding but not of a capacity to supply the cooler reflection which her own husband sometimes needed; and so entirely waiting to be guided on every occasion that whether he was risking his fortune or spraining his ankle, she remained equally useless. The Narrator
Sanditon was a second wife and four children to him, hardly less dear, and certainly more engrossing. He could talk of it forever. it had indeed the highest claims; not only those of birthplace, property and home; it was his mine, his lottery, his speculation and his hobby horse; his occupation, his hope and his futurity. The Narrator
The sea air and sea bathing together were nearly infallible, one or the other of them being a match for every disorder of the stomach, the lungs or the blood. They were anti-spasmodic, anti-pulmonary, anti-septic, anti-billious and anti-rheumatic. Nobody could catch cold by the sea; nobody wanted appetite by the sea; nobody wanted spirits; nobody wanted strength. The Narrator
But the maintenance, education and fitting out of fourteen children demanded a very quiet, settled, careful course of life, and obliged them to be stationary and healthy at Willingden. What prudence had at first enjoined was now rendered pleasant by habit. They (Mr.& Mrs. Heywood) never left home and they had gratification in saying so. The Narrator
Chapter 3
Every neighborhood should have a great lady. The great lady of Sanditon was Lady Denham. The Narrator
“There is at times,” said he, “a little self-importance — but it is not offensive — and there are moments, there are points, when her love of money is carried greatly too far. But she (Lady Denham) is a good-natured woman, a very good-natured woman — a very obliging, friendly neighbour; a cheerful, independent, valuable character — and her faults may be entirely imputed to her want of education.” Mr. Parker
“Those who tell their own story, you know, must be listened to with caution. When you see us in contact, you will judge for yourself.” Mr. Parker
Beauty, sweetness, poverty and dependence do not want the imagination of a man to operate upon; with due exceptions, woman feels for woman very promptly and compassionately. The Narrator
but in selecting the one, Lady Denham had shown the good part of her character For, passing by the actual daughters of the house, she had chosen Clara, a niece, more helpless and more pitiable of course than any — a dependent on poverty — an additional burden on an encumbered circle; and one who had been so low in every worldly view as, with all her natural endowments and powers, to have been preparing for a situation little better than a nursery maid. The Narrator
She (Clara Brereton) was as thoroughly amiable as she was lovely; and since having had the advantage of their Sanditon breezes, that loveliness was complete. The Narrator
Chapter 4
“One other hill brings us to Sanditon — modern Sanditon — a beautiful spot. Our ancestors, you know, always built in a hole, Here were we, pent down in this little contracted nook, without air or view, only one mile and three quarters from the noblest expanse of ocean between the South Foreland and Land’s End, and without the smallest advantage from it.” Mr. Parker
“You will not think I have made a bad exchange when we reach Trafalgar House — which by the bye, I almost wish I had not named Trafalgar — for Waterloo is more the thing now.” Mr. Parker
“But you know,” still looking back, “one loves to look at an old friend at a place where one has been happy.” Mrs. Parker
“There is someone in most families privileged by superior abilities or spirits to say anything. In ours, it is Sidney, who is a very clever young man and with great powers of pleasing. He lives too much in the world to be settled; that is his only fault.” Mr. Parker
but it was a most valuable proof of the increasing fashion of the place altogether. If the village could attract, the hill might be nearly full. He anticipated an amazing season. The Narrator
“Civilization, civilization indeed!” cried Mr. Parker, delighted. “Look, my dear Mary, look at William Heeley’s windows. Blue shoes, and nankin boots! Who would have expected such a sight at a shoemaker”s in old Sanditon! This is new within the month. There was no blue shoe when we passed this way a month ago. Glorious indeed!” Mr. Parker
Here began the descent to the beach and to the bathing machines. And this was therefore the favourite spot for beauty and fashion. The Narrator
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