The overdue volume

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

Mr Alden carried the parcel into the subscription library as carefully as if it contained a liquid that might spill. Although rain had darkened the shoulders of his coat, the brown paper remained dry. He placed it on the desk and began to untie the string, loosening each knot instead of cutting it.

The librarian recognised Mrs Alden's name on the label. The book had been due six weeks earlier, but he closed the fines register before Mr Alden could take out his purse.

'It was in her room,' Mr Alden explained. 'The room was not opened until yesterday.'

He removed the paper. The book's green cover was faded where it had rested in the sun. When the librarian lifted it, a pressed fern slipped from between the pages. Mr Alden watched it fall but did not bend to retrieve it. The librarian picked it up and offered it to him.

'Page seventy-four,' Mr Alden said.

The librarian returned the fern to its place. Mr Alden smoothed the creased corner of the page with one finger. He then counted the full fine onto the desk, arranging the coins in a straight line despite the librarian's refusal to accept them.

Mrs Alden's signature remained in the borrowers' book. The librarian reached for his pen, but Mr Alden put his hand over the entry.

'Need it be crossed out?'

'Not today,' the librarian replied.

Mr Alden thanked him and wrapped the book again before remembering that it no longer belonged to him. He removed the paper, folded it into a neat square and placed it in his pocket. At the door, he asked whether the book would soon be lent to someone else.

'Certainly,' said the librarian.

Mr Alden nodded. He remained with his hand on the door until another reader approached from the street. Then he stepped aside and allowed her to enter.

“Mr Alden's grief is made powerful because the writer presents it through careful, ordinary actions rather than dramatic speech.”

Evaluate how successfully the writer presents this idea. Support your judgement with detailed references to the passage.