Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin 
Rose o’ the River [PDF ebook] 

Vintage novella about a beautiful, but shallow, young woman who learns what really matters.
This short story is about a young, beautiful girl with all the choice of men at her feet. Through the story she grows out of her selfish desires and vain idols and realizes what is truly important and beautiful in another’s character and to a better understanding of what love really means. It is also the story of a young man, though not the most handsome man around, yet the one with the most handsome and self-sacrificing character and love around. There are some flaws in the story concerning other characters, but they don’t detract too much from the beauty of the story.