Dora's mistake : A story by A. L. O. E.
"Dora's Mistake" by A. L. O. E. is a didactic children's novel written in the late 19th century. It follows the Temple siblings—Dora, Agnes, Lucius, Amy, and Elsie—and their widowed mother as they decide to build a model of the Tabernacle, turning a household project into lessons on work, charity, and faith. Themes of idleness, pride, jealousy, and Sabbath-keeping unfold alongside simple biblical teaching, with Dora’s impatience and self-justification revealing the book’s
focus on conscience, humility, and genuine piety. The opening of the story introduces the family during a bout of whooping-cough and a petty quarrel that prompts their mother to propose constructing a scale model of the Tabernacle for their aunt’s ragged school. Roles are assigned—Lucius to the frame and pillars, Amy to linen curtains and silver loops, Agnes to outer coverings, Dora to the ornate embroidery, and Elsie to the red layer—while practical planning blends with vivid explanations of the Tabernacle, its court, veil, ark, and “Holy of holies.” Sunday brings a pause in work but not in teaching: the mother explains biblical “types” (high priest, sacrifices, brazen serpent, leprosy, Naaman, and Jordan) as pictures pointing to Christ, living faith, and heaven. Meanwhile, Dora secretly embroiders on the Sabbath and then evades the truth, setting up the central moral conflict between outward zeal and inward obedience. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | A. L. O. E., 1821-1893 |
|---|---|
| Title | Dora's mistake : A story |
| Original Publication | London: John F. Shaw & Co., 1895. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres |
| Subject | Christian life -- Juvenile fiction |
| Subject | Siblings -- Juvenile fiction |
| Subject | Truthfulness and falsehood -- Juvenile fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 77916 |
| Release Date | Feb 11, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 263 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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