Success, Una L. Silberrad

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by Una L. Silberrad · 1872–1955

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"Success" by Una L. Silberrad is a novel written in the early 20th century. It centers on the price of ambition and the ethics of ownership within a powerful armaments firm, following gifted engineer Michael Annarly as his crowning invention meets corporate jealousy and manipulation. Lady Sibyl Carson’s admiring glamour and Nan Barmister’s grounded sympathy frame his rise and sudden crisis, casting light on class, power, and the uses of influence. The opening of the novel introduces Annarly revealing his completed aerial-torpedo design to Lady Sibyl at a country-house gathering, where admirers and rivals at Galhardy’s foundries debate his talent and arrogance. Elated, he is swiftly undone: the next day Sir James Shannon and the hostile secretary Brett confront him with allegations that he prematurely opened foreign negotiations; they seize his papers, suspend him, and force him to burn Lady Sibyl’s private letters after he briefly brandishes an (unloaded) pistol. In parallel, we meet Nan Barmister, a keen-eyed Soho dealer, and her circle; after Annarly fails to persuade the firm’s chairman, Sir Joseph Harte, to hear him, Nan finds him rain-soaked and shattered and quietly brings him home for food and rest. Over the following day she helps him compose and send a reasoned memorial to the directors while he explains the contested “foreign rights,” the directors’ reversal, and his despair that, with his notes confiscated, Galhardy’s can still finish the invention without him.

Summary generated automatically by Project Gutenberg.

Read time
437 min
Words
96,230
Chapters
22
Paragraphs
1,732
Price
Free
  • Engineers -- Fiction
  • England -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction
  • Inventors -- Fiction
Success

But he did not find it out, although he was soon persuaded that his first suspicion was correct: Michael was in a difficulty of some kind.

Aber er fand ihn nicht heraus, obwohl er bald davon überzeugt war, dass sein erster Verdacht richtig war: Michael befand sich in irgendeiner Schwierigkeit.

Its nature he did not discover; but he guessed it to take its rise from ambition rather than any of the more venial (and to him less forgivable) sins of youth, and with that he was content.

Der Art nach entdeckte er sie nicht; aber er ahnte, dass sie ihren Ursprung in Ehrgeiz hatte, eher als in irgendeiner der verzeihlicheren (und für ihn weniger verzeihlichen) Sünden der Jugend, und damit war er zufrieden.

Of the extent, he had no idea; after a night’s rest Michael was sufficiently controlled to appear normal to one who knew nothing of him, more especially when there was Nan, who understood, to come between.

Von dem Ausmaß hatte er keine Vorstellung; nach einer Nacht der Erholung war Michael ausreichend gefasst, um für jemanden, der nichts von ihm wusste, normal zu erscheinen, zumal wenn Nan, die es verstand, dazwischen trat.

On the first day, the day when the directors of Galhardy’s were to meet, Nan suggested he should draw up a memorial of all that had happened:

Am ersten Tag, dem Tag, an dem die Direktoren von Galhardy’s zusammentreten sollten, schlug Nan vor, er solle eine Denkschrift über alles, was geschehen war, verfassen:

the accusation and defence, his real offence, and what justification he had to offer for it.

die Anklage und die Verteidigung, sein wahres Vergehen und die Rechtfertigung, die er dafür vorbringen konnte.

“What is the use?”

„Was soll das nützen?“,

he said apathetically.

sagte er apathetisch.

“They will decide to-day before ever they can get it.”

„Sie werden heute entscheiden, bevor sie es überhaupt erhalten können.“

“But they could redecide after, I suppose?”

„Aber sie könnten es später noch einmal überdenken, nehme ich an?“,

she urged.

drängte sie.

“And even if they did not, if it made no difference, it surely would be worth doing:

„Und selbst wenn sie es nicht täten, wenn es keinen Unterschied machte, wäre es sicher wert, es zu tun:

if they decide in your favour they would be glad to be able to see plainly that they were right, and if they decide otherwise—it is certainly as well to raise a protest.”

Wenn sie sich zu Ihren Gunsten entscheiden, würden sie froh sein, klar sehen zu können, dass sie recht hatten, und wenn sie anders entscheiden – es ist sicher ratsam, Protest einzulegen.“

“I don’t think it is worth while,” he said.

„Ich denke nicht, dass es sich lohnt“, sagte er.

“I did all I could in the last two days, trying to get at various of the directors, and it came to nothing.

„Ich habe in den letzten zwei Tagen alles getan, was ich konnte, indem ich versuchte, mit verschiedenen Direktoren in Kontakt zu treten, und es kam zu nichts.

When I saw Harte yesterday I could see it had come to nothing.”

Als ich gestern Harte sah, konnte ich sehen, dass es zu nichts gekommen war.“

About the author

Una L. Silberrad1872–1955

Una L. Silberrad was an English author whose literary career spanned the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries.

The Una L. Silberrad page, and where to start →

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Questions about Success

Can I read Success in English with German side by side online?

Yes, free. Paralelo shows the English original with a German machine translation beside it, aligned phrase by phrase: hover or tap a phrase and its counterpart lights up in the other column. Anyone can read a passage; a free account opens the whole book.

What level do I need to read Success here?

There is no set level. Success runs to 96,230 words in 22 chapters, and the translation sits beside it, aligned phrase by phrase, so you can start below the level the original would need on its own and lean on the translation only where you stumble.

Is Success really free to read?

Yes. The text is in the public domain, and the translation and alignment are ours to give. A free account opens the whole book; the paid tier is for unlimited explanations.

Can I read Success in another language?

Yes. It is also published in Spanish, and switching keeps your place, because both columns share one paragraph numbering.

How long does Success take to read?

About 7 hours at a normal pace, longer if you stop to look at the alignment, which is rather the point.

Book details

Original language
English
Translation
German, machine translation
Source text
Project Gutenberg #78012
Licence
Public domain worldwide

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